snakebite came to an impressive average of 104.38 in the bizarre contest, compared to 102.72 for Anderson.
Wright started his clash with Anderson very strongly and was leading 3-0 in sets in no time. The Flying Scotsman had to pull out all the stops, but showed his fighting spirit and took the fourth set: 3-1. Wright, meanwhile, started to miss doubles and Anderson was able to take advantage of that. With a nice 105 finish via bullseye, some 15 and tops, he also took the fifth set: 3-2
In the sixth set, all the audience in Ally Pally held their breath for a moment, then snakebite was one dart away from a nine-darter. It went wrong on the double twelve and so he did not treat the fans present to the fourth nine-darter of this World Cup. With his heels over the ditch he still managed to win the leg and thanks to five (!) 180’ers in one set he made it 4-2.
The two Scots presented the audience with an unparalleled match and put the 180 players together. Anderson was able to raise his level further and further and by winning the seventh set ensured that the tension remained: 4-3.
After another fantastic set, in which both players were not inferior to each other, Wright reduced the difference in sets to two: 5-3. The pressure on Anderson, who was one set away from a loss, was now very high, but the Scot refused to give up and made it 5-4.
In the tenth set The Flying Scotsman that he had to break Wright to make it 5-5. He did this by throwing out via tops 104. The climax was nearing its climax and the audience in the hall went crazy. snakebite broke back and dragged the tenth set out of the fire. And so he can prepare for a final against Smith.
Michael Smith to final for second time in career
Earlier in the evening, Michael Smith was the first to qualify for the final of the World Darts Championship in London. The Englishman, who sent defending champion Gerwyn Price home in the quarterfinals, settled with his compatriot James Wade on Sunday evening: 6-3 and is for the second time in his career for the final of the World Cup.
Smith started out as the big favorite to the party. In fact, the bookmakers even see him as a favorite for the overall victory. The fact that he was seen as the biggest contender for a final ticket against his compatriot was not based on the results that bully boy has booked against Wade in the past. For Smith is The Machine because it has always been his fear-monger. Wade won 17 of the 22 previous encounters. However, Smith’s averages are a lot better than his opponent’s in this tournament and he was able to stick to that before the match.
Michael Smith is in the final of the World Darts Championship.
ⓒ HH/ANP
The fourth-seeded Wade hoped to finally reach the final at the World Cup on Sunday evening. Three times before, the Englishman made it to the last four, but he never reached the final battle.
Impressive first two sets
From the start of the match it was again impressive what Smith showed. With an average of 106 he made a deep impression. Wade scored an average of 92 against that and so it was not surprising that the first two sets went convincingly to his opponent.
The third set was surprisingly a prey for Wade. With a handsome 121 finish The Machine for the first time a leg from his opponent and with it the set: 1-2. Wade was also well on his way to win the fourth set with a 2-0 lead in legs, but Smith took three legs in a row to make it 3-1 in sets.
Wade takes last straw
Wade’s resistance seemed broken after that, as Smith rumbled on and took two sets in a row: 1-5. Still wanted The Machine didn’t give up yet and with a nice 160 finish he won the seventh set: 2-5.
bully boy seemed a little lulled to sleep, as his average dropped to almost below a hundred. Wade had his back against the wall in the eighth set at a 2-2 tie in legs, but at that moment he managed to throw a fantastic leg and crawled one set closer: 3-5.
Smith didn’t let Wade come anymore and on his second match dart he hit the mark and won a ticket for the final. In this he will compete against Peter Wright.