On another dramatic night at Alexandra Palace, reigning world champion Gerwyn Price threw a nine-darter but was still knocked out of the PDC World Darts Championship in the quarter-finals by Michael Smith (6/4 – Tournament Outright).
Saturday 1st January results:
Afternoon session:
James Wade 5-0 Mervyn King
Luke Humphries 2-5 Gary Anderson
Evening session:
Peter Wright 5-4 Callan Rydz
Gerwyn Price 4-5 Michael Smith
Sunday 2nd January – Semi-finals
Order of Play:
Michael Smith vs James Wade (19:30)
Peter Wright vs Gary Anderson (21:30)
Price incredibly registered the third nine-darter of the tournament but crashed out as Smith won 5-4 in a ding-dong battle, while Peter Wright (13/8 – Outright), James Wade (9/1) and Gary Anderson (9/2) also made the semis on New Year’s Day.
Afterwards, Smith admitted he was “ecstatic” and said: “I’ve just got to keep myself focused and prepared right, and sleeping right, and then I’ll start thinking about playing.
“Who knows? I could turn up tomorrow and play the worst darts I’ve played.”
Wright’s own 5-4 victory, when he responded to being 3-1 down against Callan Rydz, was another superb match in what has been a thrilling World Darts Championship so far.
Wade had no problems dismissing Mervyn King 5-0 in the afternoon session, while Anderson saw off Luke Humphries 5-2 to book their places in the last four.
On Sunday, the last four go head-to-head when Smith is 4/11 to see off 11/5 Wade and make the final, before Wright takes on Anderson. Wright is the 8/15 favourite to progress in their clash, with Anderson a 6/4 chance with Betfred.
Anderson may be the underdog against the second seed but ‘The Flying Scotsman’ was pleased with his comfortable quarter-final success over Humphries and is after more of the same on Sunday.
He said: “The right shots at the right time came which I was quite happy about. I still want to play darts and I still want to win.”
Betfred have several specials for Sunday’s semis, including another nine-darter at 9/1, while Wright is 5/2 to record the highest checkout of the night.
PDC World Darts Championship Odds