Dirk van Duijvenbode denied Gary Anderson a remarkable comeback to reach his first-ever World Matchplay semi-final, eventually getting over the line 16-13 at the Winter Gardens on Thursday night in a quarter-final that swung violently in its closing stages.
In doing so, the Dutchman ended a run that had stood since Anderson first reached the last eight at Blackpool, the Scot having never previously lost a World Matchplay quarter-final.
It looked, for long spells, as though the match would be done and dusted relatively comfortably for Van Duijvenbode who had, at one point been eight legs clear. The Dutchman went into the first intermission in perfect style, flying out of the blocks into a 4-1 lead as he broke Anderson’s throw twice.
Another period of total control followed soon after, with Van Duijvenbode racing into a 7-3 advantage, and had it not been for a couple missed darts in the tenth leg, he would have gone into the second break already halfway to victory. As so often happens at this historic venue, the momentum shifted. A small spell of more missed doubles let Anderson claw back three of the next five legs, but Dirk steadied himself and took a 9-6 lead into the second break.
From there, four legs without reply gave the Dutchman a dream scenario heading into the final session, needing just three more legs to book a maiden semi-final.
That was when Anderson produced the hope of a fightback that will define this quarter-final. Five consecutive legs, underlined by a sublime 154 checkout, dragged the Scot right back into contention and put the result in real jeopardy.
But when push came to shove, Van Duijvenbode found the composure to close it out on his third match dart, getting over the line 16-13 to deny Anderson’s comeback.
The result caps an extraordinary run for ‘The Aubergenius’, who arrived at Thursday’s session having already played more legs than any other quarter-finalist in the field. 24 to beat Chris Dobet and a further 26 to oust compatriot Michael van Gerwen.
There were few signs of nerves in this match-up though, as in the words of Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle, “He simply just rode it out.” Hitting no less than 13 maximums and averaging over 101, Dirk will carry considerable confidence into a matchup with either Luke Littler or Josh Rock in the semi-finals.
2026 Betfred World Matchplay
Thursday July 23
Dirk van Duijvenbode 16-13 Gary Anderson
Luke Littler v Josh Rock
Best of 31 Legs
Friday July 24 (2000 BST *)
Quarter-Finals x2
Ross Smith v Gerwyn Price
Gian van Veen v James Wade
Best of 31 Legs
Images: Taylor Lanning / PDC
