Blackpool ride continues for Wade

JAMES WADE powered into the quarter-finals of the StanJames.com World Matchplay with a 13-10 win over Vincent van der Voort in Blackpool.

Wade, the Winter Gardens champion in 2007, continued his challenge for a second World Matchplay title with an assured display to end the Dutchman's hopes.

He came from 3-2 down to lead 6-3 and 11-6 before holding off a fightback from van der Voort to set up a quarter-final with Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones.

However, the world number three said afterwards: "I've got to improve if I want to win this title.

"I got my game quite a bit there and started relaxing and playing to the crowd instead of getting on with it and you're not going to win tournaments like that.

"There were glimmers of my best darts but Vincent missed a lot of doubles and I finished pretty well. I've won my first two games and this was an okay day's work - but I want to bury players and not let them back in."

Wade hit a maximum in the game's opening leg but van der Voort edged ahead on the bullseye before landing double top for a 2-0 advantage.

The left-hander hit the same bed to get off the mark, but a 180 was not enough in the fourth leg as van der Voort posted double nine to move 3-1 up.

Wade finished 62 to take the fifth leg, and an assured two-dart 96 checkout saw him level matters.

The Dutchman missed the bull for a 124 finish in the seventh, with Wade following up an earlier maximum with double ten to lead for the first time, and a 96 finish followed by double ten took his run to five successive legs as he took a 6-3 lead.

Van der Voort stopped that with double 16, but Wade won the next three - twice punishing misses from last year's quarter-finalist - to take a 9-4 advantage.

Van der Voort took out 106 to win a fifth leg, while the pair traded maximums in sharing the next two to leave Wade 10-6 up, with double ten giving him a five-leg cushion.

However, the Dutch star threatened a comeback by cutting the lead to 11-8 by winning the next two legs, forcing Wade to take out 121 in moving a leg away from the win.

Van der Voort posted two double eight finishes to pull back to within two legs and keep the game alive, but Wade sealed victory on double five to set up a quarter-final with Wayne Jones.

"Friday is my biggest game of the tournament," said Wade. "Wayne's got a pretty good record against me recently but this is on the TV stage and we'll see what happens on Friday."