9th Word Title for Trina as more big names tumble

Winstanley guns down Bunting in high tempo game…

Number 3 seed and debutant Dean Winstanley came through the quarter-finals with his best display so far to defeat Stephen Bunting 5-1 in a high-quality battle. Bunting, who saw off Scott Waites in the last round, didn’t do a lot wrong throughout, but came up short against the Yorkshire star, who produced magnificent darts at the right time. The first set was nicked by the debutant as Bunting was made to pay for two missed darts for the set, but levelled things up in an eventful second set, which included 3 180s, a 144 finish from Winstanley and a 13 darter from Bunting in the decider.  Winstanley moved back into the lead in the third, as he whitewashed the man from St. Helens, and then came the turning point as in the deciding leg of the fourth, Winstanley produced a 12 darter on the bull, to follow up his 13 darter in the deciding leg of the third set, to move into a 3-1 lead at the interval. This gave him the confidence to wrap up the next set 3 legs to 0 to take him to the brink of victory, and in the fifth leg of the sixth set, Bunting missed a 66 out to save the match, and Winstanley didn’t let up as he nicked in Double 6 to take the match. “Reaching the semi final on my debut means I must be doing something right!” exclaimed Winstanley afterwards. “I am not bothered about the money I have won, it is all about becoming world champion - that would be unbelievable”. Ultimately there was disappointment for Bunting at the end of a memorable week for him, both averages shaded just over 90, but it was the Yorkshireman getting the plaudits, and to set up a semi-final against either Dutchman Jan Dekker or his Yorkshire colleague Garry Thompson.

Youngster Dekker comes back from the dead to floor Thompson…

Dutchman Jan Dekker produced an incredible comeback from 3-0 down to defeat Garry Thompson 5-4 in a tussling tiebreak to book his place in the semi-finals. 6 out of 8 sets went to a deciding leg, before the decider took 8 legs to sort out. Missed doubles from Dekker in the deciding legs of the first and third sets proved pivotal in his unfolding nightmare on stage, as the experienced Thompson kept pouncing to plunge Dekker into nearly Mission Impossible. However, his luck changed going into the break, as he nicked the deciding leg of the fourth thanks to a maximum to go in at 3-1 behind. As they were before the break, the fifth set went again to a deciding leg, and a lack of concentration from “Cougar” allowed Dekker in to reduce the deficit to just one set. He could have been forgiven for thinking it was all over in the sixth, as Thompson hit a magnificent 152 check in the deciding leg to go just one set away from his first semi-final. The inevitable fifth-leg decider was again upon them in the seventh, Dekker needing to take it to keep his hopes alive. His prayers were answered as Thompson missed 4 darts at Double 11 to clinch the match, and Dekker pounced to fight onto another set. The tension was setting into both players in the eighth as missed doubles from both meant that Dekker was the one who ultimately prevailed, taking the match into a decider. With Thompson 2-1 up in the final set, he missed another 5 darts for the match as they went into a tie-break. Legs went with the darts until, at 4 legs to 3 up, Thompson miscounted to leave a bogey, and this was all Dekker needed to steal the match with a 68 finish.

Emotional Gulliver makes it an incredible 9...

Eight-time World Champion Trina Gulliver made it a ninth in a case of déjà vu for women’s darts, as she saw off plucky Welsh woman Rhian Edwards 2-0 for the second year in a row. She later dedicated the win to her ill mother, in emotional scenes on stage after the victory. Edwards took the opening leg before Trina got to work, as she then won the three legs required without response, to go 1-0 ahead. The crucial point of the match came in the third leg of the second set, as Gulliver checked out 100 to stop Edwards from breaking, and to throw for the set, and two missed darts from Edwards in the next allowed Trina in to secure triumph. “It is fantastic and a great feeling to retain the title. All the championships are special to me but I want to dedicate this championship to my Mum who has not been well.”

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