Gary Anderson thrashes Michael van Gerwen to keep hopes alive of first major title since 2018
Gary Anderson swept aside his great rival Michael van Gerwen to reach the Machineseeker European Championship quarter-finals on Saturday, as Luke Humphries continued his dominant form in Dortmund.
Former European Champions Van Gerwen and James Wade were beaten on a dramatic day of second round action, which ensured that a new champion will be crowned on Sunday night when the £600,000 tournament concludes.
However, Anderson’s victory over Van Gerwen stole the headlines at the Westfalenhalle, as the Scot continued his terrific form with an emphatic 10-4 success against the four-time European Champion.
Anderson made a bright start as he raced into a 4-1 lead, before rebuffing a brief rally from Van Gerwen with a clinical 122 outshot in leg ten to lead 7-3.
The Dutchman was unable to muster his blistering best, and Anderson sensed blood in the latter stages, firing in a 12-dart leg to set up a quarter-final showdown against Ritchie Edhouse.
“It wasn’t really Michael up there,” admitted Anderson, who averaged 97 and landed five 180s to triumph. “Michael has achieved everything in darts. He’s been absolutely mustard for the last decade, so it’s still a privilege to play against him.
“I just did enough to win tonight. My TV game is still a mile away from my performances on the ProTour, but we’re still going!”
Edhouse continued his breakthrough run in Dortmund with a sensational 10-9 success against Michael Smith, overturning a 4-1 deficit to seal his spot in a maiden televised quarter-final.
Edhouse averaged 109.46 in his first round demolition of Gian van Veen on Thursday, and backed that performance up with a valiant comeback against Smith, sealing the deal with back-to-back 13-darters.
“I’m on cloud nine at the moment,” revealed Edhouse, who kickstarted his comeback with a 152 checkout in leg six. “I’ve got a bit of grit in my game now. I might have rolled over previously, but now I have the belief, and my confidence went up throughout the game.”
Despite exits for the players ranked second and third on the PDC Order of Merit, world number one Humphries stormed through to Finals Day with a comprehensive 10-3 win over Jonny Clayton.
Having averaged 106 in his first round victory against Nathan Aspinall, Humphries registered a seventh consecutive ton-plus average to set up a showdown against Jermaine Wattimena.
“I felt I really dominated in the first few sessions, and that’s what you need to do against players like Jonny,” reflected Humphries. “It’s always tough to keep producing these high levels. That’s seven ton-plus averages on the trot, and I’d love to hit another three tomorrow!
“I’m expecting an action-packed game against Jermaine. We’ve had some crackers in the past, and he’s playing at a really high level at the moment, so I won’t be taking anything for granted.”
Wattimena earlier launched an astonishing comeback to topple 2018 champion Wade in a last-leg epic, conjuring up a sensational 124 checkout on the bull to edge out the left-hander.
Trailing 5-1, Wattimena won seven out of the next nine legs to secure a shock lead, but Wade regained the advantage at 9-8 after narrowly missing double 12 for a spectacular nine-darter.
However, the Dutchman pinned tops to force a decider, before producing a sensational leg against the throw to progress to his first televised quarter-final since 2019.
“To hit a 124 finish to win in a last-leg decider, I have no words for that,” claimed Wattimena, who whitewashed 2023 champion Peter Wright in round one.
“I was 5-1 down but I told myself to keep fighting. The smile is not coming off my face this evening! I haven’t played my A-game in the last few years, but I am growing now, and I am confident I can beat the biggest players in the world!”
Ricardo Pietreczko maintained home interest with a convincing 10-3 win over Andrew Gilding in Saturday’s finale, as he secured his place in a maiden televised quarter-final.
The German star delighted over 7,000 German fans at the Westfalenhalle with a professional display, landing 142 and 158 finishes to move through to a clash against Danny Noppert.
Noppert was superb in celebrating a 10-6 victory over World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, averaging over a ton, landing eight 180s and converting a trio of ton-plus checkouts.
The Dutchman took out 124, 116 and 117 to secure a place in his fourth consecutive European Championship quarter-final, ending De Decker’s six-match winning run on the big stage as a result.
