Nine-dart hero Jonny Clayton joined big guns Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross in the Ladbrokes UK Open quarter-finals following a dramatic day which saw three former champions knocked out in Minehead.<\/p>\n
The \u00a3450,000 multi-board event continued with the fifth and sixth rounds at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, as the remaining 32 players were whittled down to just eight on Saturday.<\/p>\n
It was Welshman Clayton who stole the headlines with a brilliant nine-darter, his first in competition, as he moved into the quarter-finals of the event for the first time.<\/p>\n
Clayton had produced a superb display in a 10-4 fifth round win over Joe Cullen, before enjoying his moment of perfection in the 12th leg of his 10-8 defeat of Chris Dobey in the last 16; following two 180s with a 141 finish.<\/p>\n
That gave Clayton an 8-4 lead, with Dobey continuing his fightback from 5-0 down with checkouts of 117 and 104 as he pulled back to 9-8 before the Welshman eventually closed out the victory.<\/p>\n
Clayton was joined in winning through to the quarter-finals by fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price, who edged out Germany’s Gabriel Clemens 10-9 by landing an 11-darter in the deciding leg of their sixth round contest.<\/p>\n
The world number three – who celebrated his 35th birthday on Saturday – also overcame Ricky Evans in the last 32, and is now aiming to win his third televised title.<\/p>\n
“It’s a nice birthday present for me!” said Price, who meets Dimitri Van den Bergh in the quarter-finals. <\/p>\n
“I’ve played well in all three games I’ve played so far but in the first two I took my chances. I missed some doubles early on against Gabriel and he got in front of me.<\/p>\n
“He was full of confidence and played well but I stuck in there and I’m thankful that I had such a good last leg. I’m through and I can look forward to Sunday now.”<\/p>\n
Two-time UK Open champion Van Gerwen overcame a scare against Jason Lowe in the fifth round before returning to top form in the last 16 with a dominant 10-4 win over James Wade, averaging 109 and missing just four attempted doubles.<\/p>\n
The world number one had looked set to stroll through his opening encounter on Saturday when he landed finishes of 170 and 116 to move 5-0 up.<\/p>\n
Lowe – a builder from the Midlands who won a PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School in January – hit back to level and also led 9-8 before the Dutchman took the final two legs for a narrow win before later seeing off two-time winner Wade.<\/p>\n
“There’s still a lot of work to do and I need to keep my focus because I want to win this tournament,” said Van Gerwen, who plays Rob Cross in the last eight. <\/p>\n
“I made it difficult for myself this afternoon but I’m very happy with my performance tonight.<\/p>\n
“I feel good and I want to build from here. They all still want to beat me but so far I’m playing a good tournament and I want to do some more damage from here.”<\/p>\n
Ladbrokes UK Open quarter-finals<\/p>\n
World Champion Wright, the 2017 UK Open winner, saw his hopes of a second triumph in the event ended by Daryl Gurney in an entertaining sixth round contest as the Northern Irish ace moved into the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
Wright – a 10-6 winner against Ian White in round five – led 3-1 early on against Gurney, who took out 136 and 148 on his way to a 10-6 triumph.<\/p>\n
Gurney also had to show his fighting spirit in round five, as he came from 7-1 down to defeat William O’Connor 10-9, surviving three missed match darts in a dramatic deciding leg.<\/p>\n
The Northern Irish star now plays Jelle Klaasen, who won through to his first televised quarter-final since the 2016 European Championship with an impressive 10-9 win over 2018 winner Gary Anderson.<\/p>\n
Klaasen, who has dropped out of the top 32 since needing a wrist operation in 2017, produced some of his best darts since as he prevailed in a tight contest with Anderson to follow an earlier 10-1 defeat of Steve West.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a while since I felt so relaxed on stage, even when I was under pressure,” said Klaasen, a semi-finalist four years ago.<\/p>\n
“I had the wrist surgery [in 2017] and it takes a while to get the confidence back, but I’m happy that slowly it’s getting there.<\/p>\n
“The belief is back and I know I can perform under pressure, and that showed against Gary. If I score like I can and hit my doubles like I have this weekend, I can beat anyone.”<\/p>\n
2019 UK Open finalist Cross battled into the quarter-finals with victories over St Helens duo Michael Smith and Stephen Bunting in a hard-fought Saturday.<\/p>\n
Cross survived a missed match dart – at the bull for a 164 finish – from Smith in the deciding leg of their fifth round tie, before coming from 8-7 down to win three straight legs in a 10-8 defeat of Bunting.<\/p>\n
“I’ve pulled through a few gritty games and I’m grinding out results, which is what you need to do,” said Cross.<\/p>\n
“I’m still not starting as well as I want to, and I can’t do that against Michael, but I’m not a million miles away. I’ve got to take my chances and I’m looking forward to the game because you know what you’re going to get against Michael.”<\/p>\n
Hughes booked his place in a first quarter-final at a televised PDC event with a 10-5 defeat of Mensur Suljovic, following up an earlier 10-7 defeat of Martin Atkins.<\/p>\n
Two-time World Youth Champion Van den Bergh defeated both Matthew Edgar and Kyle McKinstry on Saturday as he moved into the UK Open quarter-finals for the first time.<\/p>\n
McKinstry had defeated Martin Schindler 10-5 in the fifth round to continue his best-ever run in a PDC televised event, having begun the tournament in Friday’s first round with a win over Fallon Sherrock.<\/p>\n
Wade had matched Klaasen’s margin of victory in round five with a 10-1 defeat of Kim Huybrechts, while Simon Whitlock, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Simon Stevenson and Andy Boulton also exited in the last 32.<\/p>\n
The Ladbrokes UK Open concludes on Sunday, with the afternoon session’s quarter-finals followed in the evening session by the semi-finals and final, with a \u00a3100,000 top prize on offer for the eventual champion.<\/p>\n
Van Gerwen is the 11\/10 favourite with sponsors Ladbrokes, with Price 5\/2 as he aims to capture a title which evaded him in the 2017 final.<\/p>\n
Gurney is rated 15\/2 ahead of Cross (9\/1), with Clayton (14\/1), Hughes (16\/1), Van den Bergh (18\/1) and Klaasen (25\/1) all seeking to claim their maiden PDC televised ranking titles on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Click here for ways to watch Day Two of the UK Open.<\/p>\n
Click here to see Main Stage and Stage Two live scores with Sportradar.<\/p>\n
Click here to see Stages Three & Four live scores with DartConnect.<\/p>\n
2020 Ladbrokes UK Open
\nSaturday March 7
\nAfternoon Session
\nFifth Round
\nChris Dobey 10-5 Simon Whitlock
\nMichael van Gerwen 10-9 Jason Lowe
\nPeter Wright 10-6 Ian White
\nRob Cross 10-9 Michael Smith
\nDaryl Gurney 10-9 William O’Connor
\nGerwyn Price 10-3 Ricky Evans
\nJames Wade 10-1 Kim Huybrechts
\nGary Anderson 10-5 Simon Stevenson
\nJonny Clayton 10-4 Joe Cullen
\nMensur Suljovic 10-7 Dirk van Duijvenbode
\nStephen Bunting 10-2 Alan Tabern
\nDimitri Van den Bergh 10-4 Matthew Edgar
\nJamie Hughes 10-7 Martin Atkins
\nJelle Klaasen 10-1 Steve West
\nKyle McKinstry 10-5 Martin Schindler
\nGabriel Clemens 10-6 Andy Boulton<\/p>\n
Evening Session
\nSixth Round
\nGerwyn Price 10-9 Gabriel Clemens
\nMichael van Gerwen 10-4 James Wade
\nJelle Klaasen 10-9 Gary Anderson
\nDaryl Gurney 10-6 Peter Wright
\nJonny Clayton 10-8 Chris Dobey – Jonny Clayton hits nine-darter
\nJamie Hughes 10-5 Mensur Suljovic
\nDimitri Van den Bergh 10-8 Kyle McKinstry
\nRob Cross 10-8 Stephen Bunting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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