UK Open: Danny Noppert to final after impressive comeback | Darts

Noppert started well and easily kept his own leg. After that, however, things quickly went downhill for the Dutchman. He couldn’t find the high scores anymore and was broken twice in a row. As a result, Noppert went into the break with a 4-1 deficit and O’Connor’s level certainly did not decrease after the interruption.

The Irishman visibly gained more confidence and won no less than five legs in a row. Noppert knew something had to be done to keep another chance and finally managed to keep his own leg again. Immediately after, he broke the Irishman for the first time and the tension returned to the match. The match stabilized after that and there was no breaking for a long time.

In the sixteenth leg, the breakthrough was finally there. Noppert broke O’Connor and tied the score. The next leg, the Frisian even took the lead and that was a crucial moment. Up to three times a dart from Noppert flew off the board, but one dart on double 20 was enough. Noppert played well from that moment on and made it 10-9. In the last leg he managed to break O’Connor by taking another chance on tops to decide the game.

Noppert will face Michael Smith in the final. Smith trailed 6-2 in his semi-final against Keane Barry, but then picked up steam. He won all of the last nine legs and showed that he is a class better than Barry. Smith’s place in the final is bad news for Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman is driven from third place in the world ranking by the Briton.

Michael Smith was 10-7 too strong for Gerwyn Price earlier in the tournament, so that Peter Wright relieves himself as number 1 in the world that last morning. Before Price, Van Gerwen led the list continuously for seven years. The Dutchman is currently number four in the ranking.