Amazing Anderson secures Auckland glory!

Gary Anderson secured his second successive World Series title by defeating Adrian Lewis 11-7 in the final of the Auckland Darts Masters at the Trusts Arena on Sunday evening. Anderson averaged 99.90 and registered eight maximums to defeat Lewis, who defended his Auckland title valiantly.

Lewis kicked off proceedings with a 177 and landed tops to claim the opening leg, but Anderson fired back with D3, having earlier missed the bull for a 170 finish. The Scot registered his first maximum in leg-three, but Lewis held throw with a fine 12-darter, culminating with an 81 finish.

Anderson missed D16 for a 149 checkout in the fourth, but returned to post D8 and restore parity. Nevertheless, the fifth leg saw both players spurn opportunities. Lewis squandered three darts at D18, but Anderson was unable to convert D8 or D4, enabling Jackpot to regain the lead on D9.

Lewis, who defeated Raymond van Barneveld in the final of last year’s event, missed D18 for a spectacular 156 outshot, allowing Anderson to post tops for another hold of throw. ‘The Flying Scotsman’ broke throw in the seventh leg, hitting his second maximum and converting a 68 checkout on D10.

Anderson clinched his third straight leg via D20, but Lewis reduced the arrears to 5-4 by following up a maximum with a stunning 121 finish on the bull. Lewis registered maximums in both of the next two legs, but Anderson took out 65 and 32 to secure a double-break and establish control at 7-4.

The Stoke star responded strongly however. Lewis nailed D9 with his last dart in hand, before reducing the deficit to a solitary leg by virtue of a magnificent 150 finish. Nevertheless, Anderson remained unperturbed, kicking off the next leg with six-perfect darts, before winning the leg in 11 darts to regain his two-leg cushion.

The pair traded 180’s in the fifteenth leg, but Anderson secured another precious break of throw by hitting D5 to complete a 70 kill. However, the Scot squandered a chance to establish a four-leg advantage by missing key doubles, and Lewis cut the deficit to 9-7 by posting D1.

The decisive moment came in the seventeenth leg. Lewis missed D12 for an inspired 144 checkout and Anderson took out 86 on the bullseye to break throw, and move within a leg of the title. On this occasion, Lewis had no answer, as Anderson landed his eighth maximum and converted D10 to secure his second World Series crown of 2016.

Earlier in the day, ‘The Flying Scotsman’ produced a phenomenal display to defeat Raymond van Barneveld 11-7 in an extremely high-quality semi-final. Anderson averaged 111.37, recorded eight maximums and 23 scores of 140 or more. Yet, this type of performance was required to beat Van Barneveld, who also performed sensationally well.

The five-time world champion stormed into a 4-0 lead with finishes of 121 and 64, and Anderson was shell-shocked. However, the world champion responded with an incredible barrage of scoring, reeling off five consecutive legs using just 60 darts in the process.

Van Barneveld barely put a foot wrong, apart from missing darts to stay afloat in the eighteenth and final leg. That saw his average fall from 108 to 104.85, but Anderson was simply unbeatable, winning 11 of the final 14 legs to secure his spot in the final.

Adrian Lewis secured a place in his second successive Auckland final with a nervy 11-9 victory over eight-time major winner James Wade. Lewis fired in an incredible 12 maximums en route to victory, finishing with an average of 100.28.

However, the Stoke-on-Trent ace missed 31 doubles throughout the contest, which kept Wade in contention. ‘The Machine’ was unable to replicate the performance he produced to beat world number one Michael van Gerwen on Saturday, although whilst operating well below his best, Wade was still typically tenacious.

Auckland Darts Masters, presented by TAB and Burger King
Sunday June 19
Semi-Finals
Gary Anderson 11-7 Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade 9-11 Adrian Lewis
Best of 21 legs

Final
Gary Anderson 11-7 Adrian Lewis
Best of 21 legs

Match Stats

Gary Anderson	11-7	Raymond van Barneveld
18	100+	15
23	140+	23
1	170+	1
8	180	6
111.37	Average	104.85
90	High Finish	121
5	Breaks of Throw	3
11/22 – 50%	Checkout %	7/19 – 37%

Match Stats

James Wade	9-11	Adrian Lewis
37	100+	30
19	140+	13
0	170+	0
1	180	12
94.51	Average	100.28
118	High Finish	149
3	Breaks of Throw	4
9/28 – 32%	Checkout %	11/42 – 26%

Match Stats

Gary Anderson	11-7	Adrian Lewis
22	100+	25
9	140+	12
0	170+	1
8	180	4
99.90	Average	98.96
86	High Finish	150
4	Breaks of Throw	2
11/22 – 50%	Checkout %	7/23 – 30%