Michael van Gerwen won his second UK Open qualifier of 2016 by defeating Welshman Gerwyn Price 6-2 in the final of UK Open qualifier 5, at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan. MvG averaged 109.44 in the final, whilst he produced the same average in his semi-final win over Phil Taylor.
Van Gerwen was in rampant form throughout Saturday’s session, and his £10,000 winner’s cheque confirms that he’ll finish 1st on the overall UK Open Order of Merit, with the sixth and final qualifier taking place tomorrow.
However, it was an equally fantastic day for Gerwyn Price. ‘The Iceman’ had amassed £1,500 from the opening four qualification events, but his run to the final ensures he will enter the UK Open at the third-round stage.
Van Gerwen faced a tricky L128 tie against Alan Norris to kick off Saturday’s proceedings, but MvG prevailed with an emphatic 6-2 victory. ‘The Green Machine’ then thrashed his compatriot Joey Ten Berge 6-1 to reach the last 32, where he then defeated Daryl Gurney 6-3, in a repeat of last weekend’s Dutch Darts Masters Final.
MvG despatched Andy Hamilton 6-1 in the last 16, before sealing his spot in the last four with a 6-2 win over nine-time major finalist Terry Jenkins, who followed up yesterday’s semi-final appearance with another fine run on Saturday.
Van Gerwen faced Phil Taylor in the semi-finals. Taylor defeated the world number one 6-2 to win the third UK Open qualifier a fortnight ago, but the Dutchman gained retribution on this occasion, beating ‘The Power’ 6-3, before seeing off Price to clinch the title.
Taylor had whitewashed Jamie Lewis 6-0 in the last 32, before edging out yesterday’s winner Gary Anderson in the last 16. Taylor defeated Jelle Klaasen 6-3 in a repeat of the pair’s World Championship last 16 clash, but the Stokie’s hopes of winning a second UK Open qualifier of 2016 were thwarted by the irrepressible Dutchman.
However, Gerwyn Price’s performance was arguably the story of the day, as he secured a spot in his first ever PDC ranking final. Gerwyn came through a number of challenging obstacles throughout the day, and he survived a nail-biting last-leg decider against Matt Clark in the last 64.
The Welshman cruised past Mervyn King 6-2 in the last 32, before sealing a quarter-final berth with a 6-4 victory over Vincent van der Voort. The former Rugby League star thrashed his compatriot Mark Webster 6-1 in the last eight, before beating Austria’s Mensur Suljovic 6-4 to reach his maiden PDC final.
Suljovic performed superbly well throughout the day, but his semi-final curse continues. The darts-control man has now reached 11 PDC ranking semi-finals, however he is yet to win any of those contests. However, Mensur won’t be perturbed, as his run to the last four guaranteed that he’ll enter the UK Open at the third-round stage.
Suljovic kicked off his qualification campaign with an emphatic 6-1 triumph over Andy Boulton, before easing past former Lakeside semi-finalist Jan Dekker 6-2, to reach the last 32. ‘The Gentle’ showed no remorse in his last 32 tie, beating Premier League star Dave Chisnall 6-3, before edging out Scotland’s John Henderson to reach the quarter-finals.
The resurgent Simon Whitlock awaited Suljovic in the semi-finals, but Mensur continued his tremendous recent head-to-head record against the Australian, winning against Whitlock for the fourth time in succession to reach the semi-finals, before his fantastic run was halted by Price.
However, Whitlock’s renaissance continues. Since opting to wear glasses, Whitlock has reached at the least the quarter-finals of 4 of the last 6 ranking events, and his Top 32 spot on the UK Open Order of Merit has been secured.
Reine Eidams secured another last 16 spot in a UK Open qualifier, to maintain his hopes of entering the tournament in the third-round stage. Former BDO star Jeffrey de Graaf also flourished on Saturday afternoon, beating the likes of James Wilson and Michael Smith, before eventually losing to Whitlock in the last 16.
Jay Foreman reached the last 16 with narrow victories over Benito van de Pas Simon Stephenson and Andy Jenkins, whilst the likes of Ryan de Vreede, Ronny Huybrechts, Tony Newell and Darren Webster all made late qualification bids, by reaching the last 32 stage.
It was an indifferent day for a number of Premier League stars. James Wade, Peter Wright, Raymond van Barneveld and Robert Thornton all departed in their opening matches, although irrespective of this, Wade, Wright and van Barneveld are all set to enter the UK Open in round-three.
Second Round
Phil Taylor 6-1 Steve West
Stephen McNally 6-4 Lee Whitworth
Jamie Lewis 6-3 Darren Johnson
Ryan Harrington 6-2 Nathan Derry
Ronny Huybrechts 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Robbie Green 6-2 Barry Tyler
Gary Anderson 6-0 Simon Preston
William O’Connor 6-3 Jerry Hendriks
Matt Edgar 6-5 Robert Thornton
Darren Webster 6-3 Aden Kirk
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Kevin Dowling
Yordi Meeuwisse 6-2 Chris Dobey
John Bowles 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Ryan De Vreede 6-2 Kelvin Hart
Mark Walsh 6-5 Peter Wright
Rene Eidams 6-4 Colin Osborne
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Kevin Simm
Mick Hasse 6-4 Steve Brown
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Jamie Robinson 6-5 Callum Loose
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Alan Norris
Joey Ten Berge 6-1 Darren Weaver
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Colin Fowler
Peter Hudson 6-1 Ben Adams
Justin Pipe 6-3 Michel van der Horst
Rob Modra 6-2 Michael Power
Ian White 6-1 Richie Howson
James Young 6-5 RIchard Corner
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Joey Palfreyman
Derek Brand 6-5 John Michael
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Darren Mawer
Kirk Shepherd 6-2 Mark Frost
Tony Newell 6-2 Steve Beaton
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ricky Williams
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Josh Payne
John Henderson 6-1 Ryan Meikle
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Andy Boulton
Jan Dekker 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Stephen Gallimore
Ricky Sudale 6-1 Jason Marriott
James Wilson 6-4 James Wade
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Jason Wilson
Michael Smith 6-0 Michael Dawson
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Jonathan Worsley
Jamie Caven 6-0 Paul Carr
Stuart Kellett 6-2 Richard Hosey
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Shaun Griffiths 6-3 Mark Barilli
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Michael Barnard
Mick McGowan 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Dave Pallett
Scott Taylor 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Dave Ladley
Matt Clark 6-3 Christian Kist
Mervyn King 6-2 Lee Evans
Mark Hylton 6-4 Mareno Michels
Ray Campbell 6-5 Wes Newton
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Darron Brown
Jay Foreman 6-5 Benito van de Pas
Simon Stevenson 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Mark Webster 6-2 Kevin Thomas
Jim Walker 6-3 Curtis Hammond
Dean Winstanley 6-4 Berry van Peer
Kevin Painter 6-1 Gary Spedding
Third Round
Phil Taylor 6-4 Stephen McNally
Jamie Lewis 6-4 Ryan Harrington
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Robbie Green
Gary Anderson 6-2 William O’Connor
Darren Webster 6-4 Matt Edgar
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Yordi Meeuwisse
Ryan De Vreede 6-3 John Bowles
Rene Eidams 6-5 Mark Walsh
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Mick Hasse
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Jamie Robinson
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Joey Ten Berge
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Peter Hudson
Justin Pipe 6-1 Rob Modra
Ian White 6-2 James Young
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Derek Brand
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Tony Newell 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
John Henderson 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Jan Dekker
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Ricky Sudale
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-2 James Wilson
Michael Smith 6-3 Ron Muelenkamp
Stuart Kellett 6-4 Jamie Caven
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Mick McGowan 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Scott Taylor
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Matt Clark
Mervyn King 6-5 Mark Hylton
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Ray Campbell
Jay Foreman 6-5 Simon Stephenson
Mark Webster 6-2 Jim Walker
Kevin Painter 6-2 Dean Winstanley
Last 32
Phil Taylor 6-0 Jamie Lewis
Gary Anderson 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts
Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Darren Webster
Rene Eidams 6-4 Ryan De Vreede
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Ian White 6-3 Justin Pipe
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Adrian Lewis
John Henderson 6-3 Tony Newell
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-4 Michael Smith
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Stuart Kellett
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Mick McGowan
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Mervyn King
Jay Foreman 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Mark Webster 6-0 Kevin Painter
Last 16
Phil Taylor 6-4 Gary Anderson
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Rene Eidams
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Andy Hamilton
Terry Jenkins 6-4 Ian White
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 John Henderson
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jeffrey De Graaf
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
Mark Webster 6-3 Jay Foreman
Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Terry Jenkins
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Mark Webster
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Phil Taylor
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Gerwyn Price
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