JAMES WADE produced a sensational performance to defeat Robert Thornton 5-3 in a high-quality encounter at the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.
Wade produced the highest average of the tournament so far at 108.90 in claiming the victory after trailing 3-0 early on.
Thornton played his part in a thriller, averaging 100 but eventually paying for crucial missed doubles as Wade battled through for the win.
"Even at 3-0 I knew I was playing well," said Wade. "Robert missed an important double at three-all and it went my way after that."
The early stages went the way of Thornton, who took out 84 for the opening leg and produced a ten-dart leg in the second, after hitting seven perfect darts and seeing Wade miss two darts to take the leg himself.
Wade hit three 140s in the third, but double ten saw Thornton move 3-0 up with his opponent averaging 120.
Wade landed 180s in the next two legs to leave 81 after nine darts, taking both to pull back to 3-2 before punishing a missed double top by hitting the same bed to level.
Wade also hit a 180 in the seventh, but wired the bullseye for 121 finish before returning to punish three misses from Thornton to land double ten to break throw and lead for the first time.
He then sealed the win with an 88 finish on double seven to put one foot in the second round, while Thornton must defeat Gary Mawson on Wednesday to progress.
"I missed a double at three-all which cost me," admitted Thornton. "If I play the same way on Wednesday night I should hopefully be okay."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment