JAMES WADE hit a magical nine darter in his clash with WDF number one Gary Anderson at Wolverhampton but Anderson ran out a 10-8 winner.
Wade capped a comeback from 5-3 down to move 7-5 up with his first televised perfect leg, hitting back-to-back 180s before landing treble 20, treble 19 and double 12.
However, that was not enough for the UK Open champion, who saw Anderson hit five 180s in as many legs to pull through for victory.
"The nine-darter is irrelevant because I played badly and that alone wasn't enough to win me the game," said Wade.
"I believed I would do a job and had chances after the nine-darter and didn't take them, but I wasn't consistent enough over the course of the game."
The first two legs were shared on double top before Anderson wasted four darts at a double in the third before Wade stepped in to lead.
A 116 finish saw the Scot level, but a missed bullseye let Wade in on double eight for a 3-2 lead.
Anderson took the next three as the duo traded 180s, giving the 2007 semi-finalist a 5-3 cushion before three successive double top finishes from Wade - including checkouts of 102 and 101 - put him 6-5 up.
He then brought the Wolverhampton Civic crowd to its feet with his stunning nine-darter, only for missed doubles in the next to allow Anderson back in.
Anderson hit six perfect darts in leg 14, and levelled on double 16 after a potential nine-darter in reply went begging.
A two-dart 64 finish from Wade saw him move 8-7 up, but a 180 to lead a checkout in the next was not enough as Anderson took out double top to square matters again.
Anderson then hit a 180 to begin leg 17 before taking out 118 for a 12-darter to break Wade's throw, before sealing his win on double four.
"James wasn't at his best," said Anderson. "He is a heavy scorer but he never got going and I'm pleased to be through to the quarters."
Picture courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC.
No comments:
Post a Comment