Michael van Gerwen has reached the last eight at the World Darts Championship in London. He defeated the Swedish Dutchman Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2 on Monday evening.
Van Gerwen started the match excellently and was in no time 2-0 in sets ahead. “Then I went cruising a bit,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports and De Graaf promptly won the next two sets. “After that I recovered and became much stronger again. This was one of my better matches.”
Van Gerwen missed a match dart on double 12 in the sixth set. But in the next inning he scored. De Graaf had long since resigned himself to his loss.
Callan Rydz
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen (35) will now face the Englishman Callan Rydz in the quarter-finals. He won on Monday in seven sets against Robert Owen from Wales (4-3).
Van Gerwen said after the match that he was looking forward to playing the quarter-final on New Year’s Day. “But, I do miss my wife and children,” said Van Gerwen, who spends New Year’s Eve almost every year alone in his hotel room in London.
Best player
Van Gerwen is now the highest ranked player after the elimination of world champion Luke Humphries and number two on the placement list, Michael Smith. The winner of the match between Dobey and Price awaits in a possible semi-final.
Wright and Bunting will decide who will get into the other semi-final. One of them will then play against Aspinall or the winner of the Littler – Joyce match.