Gary Anderson beat Jermaine Wattimena in a thrilling seven-set match at Alexandra Palace to reach the last 16 of the World Darts Championship.
Anderson came close to making a nine-darter in a drama-filled tie-break and ultimately prevailed 4-3 against Wattimena, winning the deciding set 5-3 in the leg.
The 2015 and 2016 world champion averaged 102.24 points, hit 14 sub-180s, and posted a high checkout of 124 points to win and could face a tie with Michael van Gerwen next.
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Highlights of the dramatic final set between Anderson and Watimena…
“Flying Scotsman” Anderson defied Wattimena’s maximum three shots and the Dutchman hit a double with 10 darts to win the first set 3-1 in 5 minutes 23 seconds.
Watimena finished the second set without replying and regained parity, but Anderson came out with the heavy artillery and sealed the next set with an astonishing average of 121.28.
‘The Machine Gun’ missed two set darts in the deciding leg of the fourth set, but Anderson punished him for a two-shot lead.
The Scot then missed three match darts before Watimena pounced with an 87 finish to take the lead in the fifth set and save his life.
In an eventful sixth set, Watimena outscored Darts in the fourth match and took the seventh and final set.
Trailing 3-3 in the tie-break, Anderson missed a double 12 on nine darts and was unable to land his fifth match dart in the eighth leg, but was given a reprieve and hit a double 1 for his famous victory.
“It wasn’t good for my age. After I was 3-1 up and missed the dart with a double, Jermaine got into it,” Anderson told Sky Sports. “It’s difficult, but what a game it is.
“The last two games were boring. Now I’m going to go and lie down. I bottled a nine-dart attempt. I was excited and I rarely get excited.”
“A really exciting match – Anderson did too much.”
Laura Turner of Sky Sports Darts:
“We need to catch our breath a bit after that. Wow, what a match to end the session.
“Gary Anderson looked like he was going to win 4-1 but he missed a match dart. It looked like he was going to win 4-2 but Jermaine Wattimena had other ideas.
“It was one of those games where we really had a lot of fire, and it didn’t disappoint.
“I’m really happy for Gary. Obviously I’m disappointed in Jermaine, who showed so much courage and spirit and fight there, but Gary just went a little too far at the end.”
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Anderson had two great finishes and helped extend a 3-1 advantage.
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2018 world champion Rob Cross has made it in style, defeating Australian No. 1 Damon Heta and setting up a showdown with defending champion Luke Littler.
Cross averaged 101.3 and averaged 3/5 in doubles to win the first set 3-1, but Heta put on a horror show in doubles and wasted five darts to take the second set before ‘Voltage’ punished the Australian with a 23-dart break to double her advantage.
Rob Cross sets up a last-16 showdown with world No. 1 Luke Littler
The 35-year-old soon overtook Heta with his next set of darts and extended his cushion with a four-dart 220 and the 35-year-old secured a commanding 4-0 victory.
Regarding facing ‘The Nuke’ next, Cross said: “There’s a reason why Luke Littler is the best player in the world right now. I think he’s always had the courage to dream because he’s always been a great player.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to play darts. And if I can squeeze some magic out of myself, who knows?”
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After his 4-0 win over Damon Heta, Cross shared his thoughts on facing Littler.
Can Cross stop Littler?
Laura Turner said on Sky Sports: “Cross will know what to expect. Luke Littler put his marker on Saturday night (against Mensur Suljovic).”
“The question from the beginning was, ‘Can anyone stop him?’ I think Rob Cross will do very well.”
Ryan Searle has yet to drop a set since reaching the last 16 at Ally Pally.
Ryan Searle spun out nine legs and strongly defeated Germany’s No. 1 Martin Schindler, advancing to the last 16 with an average of 102.3 points.
Searle produced a heavy metal performance with six maximums and a high checkout of 151 in the highlights to set up a matchup with Stephen Bunting’s conqueror James Harrell.
The 38-year-old said, “I’ve been playing well in practice, and now it’s time to show it on stage.” “I felt okay today. I didn’t feel anything special. I have a lot more to give.
“There’s still a lot of darts left. It’s tough in front of the fans here and the fans are too loud. It’s not an easy place to play decent darts.
“I’m looking forward to the next match. I’ve changed my darts and I’m feeling really good.”
“I think these new darts have their limits. Usually it takes three to four weeks to get used to a new set, but I felt good right away.
“If I can bring what I’m hitting in practice onto the stage, I’m a danger to everyone.”
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Searle defeated Martin Schindler 4-0 with two brilliant big finishes with 151 points and a classy Top 100 checkout.
“It was really impressive,” Searle said.
John Peart of Sky Sports Darts:
“Saar ran through Schindler as if he wasn’t even there! This kind of performance is something else. Sarr’s scoring average at Alexandra Palace was the highest ever.
“He never looked back and just kept winning one game after another. It was really, really impressive.”
What’s going on at Ally Pally on Sunday night?
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Wayne Mardle and Glen Durrant discuss whether someone can stop Littler or Luke Humphries from reaching the finals…
The third round of matches continues with former world champions Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen taking the headlines against German stars Gabriel Clemens and Arno Merk respectively.
European champion Jan van Veen will also return to the big stage against Latvian number one Madars Razma.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3rd. Stream darts and other top sports now.
