GARY ANDERSON picked up his fifth tournament victory of 2011 with a narrow 6-5 defeat of Wes Newton in the Dutch Darts Trophy Players’ Championship. The Scot added to his success this year, which already includes the 888.com Premier League Darts victory, by winning the event at the Van Der Valk Hotel in Nuland, Holland.
Having swept through his first four matches by dropping just three legs in the process, seeing off Jose Luis Rodriguez, Rocco Maes, Kim Huybrechts and Mark Hylton, he was pushed hard in battling to victory.
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He edged past Vincent van der Voort 6-4 in the quarter-finals and then defeated Simon Whitlock 6-5 in the semi-finals after the Australian missed one dart for the win in the decider.
In the final, he broke Newton’s throw immediately to take the opening leg and double ten to double his lead.Newton, inspired by a 101 finish, won three of the next four to level the game at 3-3 before finishing double 16 at the sixth time of asking to win the seventh and take the lead.
Anderson levelled with a 100 finish which featured two double tops, but missed the bull to break in the ninth as Newton posted double ten to lead 5-4.Anderson produced a brilliant 12-darter to level and send the game into a decider, which he opened with a 180.
Newton, though, was first to a double – only to miss darts at double 16 and double eight for victory as Anderson stepped up to finish 75 on tops and triumph.
Newton’s run to the final saw him continue a brilliant seam of form this year, coming only a fortnight after he was runner-up in the Speedy Hire UK Open and a week after he became a father for the first time.He had opened his day with a whitewash win over Roland Kurok, before defeating Michael Mansell, Dave Chisnall, Roland Scholten, Michael van Gerwen and Mark Walsh on the day.
Whitlock’s run to the semi-finals also included a nine-dart finish in the opening leg of a win over Nigel Heydon as he hit a perfect leg for the second successive weekend.
Walsh’s semi-final appearance was his best display on the circuit since February before he was eventually defeated by Newton.
A quarter-final run for Michael van Gerwen could prove vital for the young Dutchman in the race to secure qualification for the European Championships, while Colin Osborne reached the same stage to improve his chances of winning through to the World Matchplay.
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Pages: DartsWorld Ltd. (from Issue 465 August 2011)
Main Image: Tip Top Pics
