Anderson dispatches Wade to win UK Open qualifier 4!

World champion Gary Anderson sealed qualification to the UK Open in Minehead next month, as he defeated eight-time major winner James Wade 6-1 to win the fourth UK Open qualifier at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.

Anderson, who was ruled out of the opening three qualifiers a fortnight ago through illness, performed superbly throughout the day, to secure his first ranking victory since winning his second World Championship title over a month ago.

‘The Flying Scotsman’ kicked off his qualification campaign with comprehensive 6-1 victories over both Darren Webster and Mike De Decker to reach the last 32, where he subsequently overcame Andrew Gilding in a tense last-leg decider.

Anderson defeated former world champion Mark Webster 6-2 in the following round, before sealing a last-four spot courtesy of a 6-3 triumph over Simon Whitlock. Anderson defeated the ever-improving Benito van de Pas 6-4 in the semi-finals, before defeating ‘The Machine’ 6-1 in the curtain raiser.

However, Wade will be mightily satisfied with his run to the final, which ensures that he’ll enter the UK Open in the third-round stage. The left-hander progressed through to the last 16 with three consecutive 6-2 victories over Robert Owen, William O’Connor and Joe Cullen respectively.

Wade defeated Kim Huybrechts 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals, where he then saw off Jelle Klaasen by the same scoreline. The Aldershot ace reached the final by defeating veteran Terry Jenkins 6-3, but he was unable to overcome the rampant world champion.

Benito van de Pas and Terry Jenkins also enjoyed fine days, earning £2,500 towards the UK Open Order of Merit with runs to the semi-finals. Jenkins was in tremendous form, defeating Alan Norris, who reached the final of UK Open qualifier 2, 6-5 in the last 64.

The nine-time major finalist thenc thrashed Andy Hamilton 6-1 to reach the last 16, where he then defeated Steve Beaton. Daryl Gurney, who reached the final of the Dutch Darts Masters last weekend, awaited in the quarters, but Jenkins prevailed 6-4, before he was beaten by Wade.

Benito van de Pas continues to impress as he reached the semi-finals. Van de Pas saw off the likes of Tony Newell and Paul Milford to reach the last 16, where he edged out Justin Pipe 6-4. This was a fine victory, considering that Pipe had whitewashed Dave Chisnall 6-0 in the previous round.

In the last eight, Benito claimed the notable scalp of his compatriot and world number one Michael van Gerwen. ‘Big Ben’ certainly struck against ‘The Green Machine’ to claim a 6-4 win, until he was ultimately beaten by the same scoreline against Anderson.

Simon Whitlock continued his resurgence with a run to the quarter-finals, which included fine 6-2 triumphs over Vincent van der Voort and Ian White. Daryl Gurney kicked on from his run to the Dutch Darts Masters final by also reaching the quarter-finals. The Northern Irishman defeated the likes of Arron Monk and Stephen Bunting, before losing to Jenkins.

Emerging Dutchman Yordi Meeuwisse essentially secured his spot in Minehead next month with a fabulous run to the last 16. Meeuwisse cruised to an emphatic 6-1 victory over Kevin Painter in the last 64, before stunning Premier League table-topper Peter Wright 6-3 in the last 32, but Gurney halted Meeuwisse’s fairytale run.

Phil Taylor was beaten in the last 32 by fellow Stokie Ian White. Taylor cruised through to the last 32 by virtue of consecutive 6-1 wins against Derek Brand and Mark Hylton, before he was beaten by ‘The Diamond’.

Elsewhere, Premier League stars Robert Thornton and Raymond van Barneveld were beaten in the last 128. Thornton was defeated 6-3 by former BDO star Jeffrey de Graaf, whilst van Barneveld was beaten in a last-leg decider by Joe Cullen. van Barneveld led 5-2, before Cullen produced finishes of 107, 138 and 170 to complete an inspired comeback.

Three-time world champion John Part remains in danger of missing out on UK Open qualification after suffering a last 256 exit against Matt Padgett in a deciding leg. Paul Nicholson is also in danger, after losing 6-5 in a dramatic last 64 clash v Ricky Evans. ‘The Asset’ came agonisingly close to hitting a 9-darter, missing D18 to record the perfect leg.

Coral UK Open Qualifier Four
Friday February 19, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan

Second Round
Board One
Mark Webster 6-1 Ray Campbell
Johnny Clayton 6-3 Sam Head

Board Two
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Wayne Jones 6-1 Simon Preston

Board Three
Gary Anderson 6-1 Darren Webster
Mike De Decker 6-4 Barrie Bates

Board Four
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Mick McGowan 6-5 Joe Murnan

Board Five
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Stephen Gallimore
Jyhan Artut 6-3 Nathan Derry

Board Six
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Matt Padgett
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Robbie Green

Board Seven
Phil Taylor 6-1 Derek Brand
Mark Hylton 6-4 Jeff Batham

Board Eight
Ian White 6-0 Mike Zuydwijk
Gary Stone 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena

Board Nine
Mervyn King 6-4 Brett Claydon
Ryan De Vreede 6-5 Steve Hine

Board 10
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Lee Whitworth
Nick Fullwell 6-3 Joshua Richardson

Board 11
MIchael Smith 6-5 Chris Hill
Bernd Roith 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Board 12
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Mark Frost
Harry Ward  6-5 Nigel Daniels

Board 13
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Pete Dyos
Tony Newell 6-5 Mick Todd

Board 14
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-3 Robert Thornton
Paul Milford 6-3 Richie Howson

Board 15
Justin Pipe 6-5 Devon Petersen
Darren Weaver 6-2 John Newland

Board 16
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Jack Todd
James Wilson 6-5 Cristo Reyes

Board 17
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Kevin Thomas
Ken MacNeil 6-5 Mark Dudbridge

Board 18
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Callum Loose
John Henderson 6-4 Kelvin Hart

Board 19
Alan Tabern 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan

Board 20
Paul Nicholson 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Ricky Evans 6-5 Ryan Harrington

Board 21
Joe Cullen 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Stuart Kellett 6-4 Eddie Dootson

Board 22
James Wade 6-2 Robert Owen
William O’Connor 6-3 James Young

Board 23
Wes Newton 6-3 Richard Hosey
Steve Brown 6-5 Ross Smith

Board 24
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Brian Woods
Jay Foreman 6-4 Andy Parsons

Board 25
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Jamie Caven
Andy Smith 6-1 Andy Boulton

Board 26
Steve Beaton 6-0 Mick Hasse
Dennis Smith 6-1 Peter Hudson

Board 27
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Cristian Kist
Curtis Hammond 6-0 Mareno Michels

Board 28
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Ted Evetts
Alan Norris 6-3 Lee Palfreyman

Board 29
Peter Wright 6-2 Kevin Dowling
Ricky Williams 6-2 Max Hopp

Board 30
Kevin Painter 6-2 Ben Davies
Yordi Meeuwisse 6-3 Andrew Johnson

Board 31
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Antonio Alcinas
Darren Johnson 6-2 Aden Kirk

Board 32
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Arron Monk
Jerry Hendricks 6-5 Darron Brown

Third Round
Mark Webster 6-3 Johnny Clayton
Wayne Jones 6-2 Dean Winstanley
Gary Anderson 6-1 Mike De Dekker
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Mick McGowan
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Jyhan Artut
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
Phil Taylor 6-1 Mark Hylton
Ian White 6-4 Gary Stone
Mervyn King 6-0 Ryan De Vreede
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Nick Fullwell
Michael Smith 6-0 Bernd Roith
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Harry Ward
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Tony Newell
Paul Milford 6-1 Jeffrey De Graaf
Justin Pipe 6-1 Darren Weaver
Dave Chisnall 6-4 James Wilson
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Ken MacNeil
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 John Henderson
Alan Tabern 6-0 Dimitri van den Bergh
Ricky Evans 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Joe Cullen 6-5 Stuart Kellett
James Wade 6-2 William O’Connor
Wes Newton 6-4 Steve Brown
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Jay Foreman
Andy Smith 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Steve Beaton 6-1 Dennis Smith
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Curtis Hammond
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Alan Norris
Peter Wright 6-0 Ricky WIlliams
Yordi Meeuwisse 6-1 Kevin Painter
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Darren Johnson
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Jerry Hendricks

Last 32
Mark Webster 6-2 Wayne Jones
Gary Anderson 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
Ian White 6-3 Phil Taylor
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Mervyn King
Michael Smith 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Benito van de Pas 6-3 Paul Milford
Justin Pipe 6-0 Dave Chisnall
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Ricky Evans 6-5 Alan Tabern
James Wade 6-2 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Wes Newton
Steve Beaton 6-2 Andy Smith
Terry Jenkins 6-1 Andy Hamilton
Yordi Meeuwisse 6-3 Peter Wright
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Stephen Bunting

Last 16
Gary Anderson 6-2 Mark Webster
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Ian White
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Michael Smith
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Justin Pipe
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Ricky Evans
James Wade 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Steve Beaton
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Yordi Meeuwisse

Quarter-Finals

Gary Anderson 6-3 Simon Whitlock
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
James Wade  6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Terry Jenkins 6-4 Daryl Gurney

Semi-Finals
Gary Anderson 6-4 Benito van de Pas
James Wade 6-3 Terry Jenkins

Final
Gary Anderson 6-1 James Wade