He pockets a £20,000 bonus for his brilliant achievement – his third perfect leg at the UK Open in Bolton…..remember, he has also hit darts ‘Holy Grail’ against Matt Chapman and Roland Scholten at The Reebok.
Newton had pushed Taylor all the way…..it was only 6-5 to Taylor when he produced his latest moment of magic…..seven treble 20s, treble 19 and double 12. It ended the game as a contest and Taylor raced away to win 11-5.
And unbelievably, Taylor will now face Raymond Van Barneveld in Sunday’s quarter-finals – just like last year! Taylor followed up his victory over Newton, by cruising to an 11-3 win over Dennis Priestley. So what a prospect!
“I knew it was coming,” said Taylor. “I had a feeling and it will be another great clash with Barney.”
Remarkably, Kevin Painter came within an ace of matching Taylor and sharing the cash jackpot. In his 6th Round all-Unicorn clash with Colin Lloyd, Painter came agonisingly close – just missing double 12 after hitting eight perfect darts. It was a brilliant match between Lloyd and Painter.
Lloyd came from behind to snatch victory in a high-quality contest. Painter was banging in 180s for fun and led 4-1, 5-3 and then crucially 9-8. But Lloyd came up with a stunning 167 finish and then broke Painter’s throw and closed out victory with a 70 check-out. Lloyd averaged 98 to Painter’s 93.
It was a magical day for Unicorn star Colin Osborne. After only just coming through 11-10 against Steve Maish, he beat both Michael Van Gerwen and Mervyn King. Osborne was 5-4 down against the Dutch teenager but took control and was superb on the finishing. He hit a 170 finish in winning four consecutive legs and won the match with a classy 117.
His 6th round battle with Mervyn King was even more dramatic. Osborne trailed 3-1 early on but again came back and looked to have it won when he lead 8-5. King rallied to level with a 134 finish. The pair traded darting blows and it went to a deciding leg again. Osborne started slowly and looked to be on his way out but amazingly King missed three darts to win and Osborne hit double seven to move into the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere in the 5th Round, there were heart-breaking defeats for John Part, James Wade and Adrian Lewis….the Canadian failed to make the last 16 for the first time in the five-year history of this event – losing a last leg decider against defending UK Open Champion Raymond Van Barneveld.
It was a nail-biter – the match swinging one way then another….Part led 2-0, then trailed 3-2….5-all became 8-7 to Barney, then Part led 10-9. It was terrific entertainment. Barneveld took it to a decider and Part started the last leg with a brilliant 180 to pile the pressure on. Incredibly Barney responded with his 8th maximum and although his finishing was scratchy throughout, he came good when it mattered most – coming up with a 111 check-out to win.
The fizz went out of James Wade in the 5th Round. The No.2 seed was 3-0 and 6-4 in front against Darren Webster but threw it all away – slipping to an 11-7 defeat. He was fuming with his performance afterwards.
Adrian Lewis, who was brilliant against Barrie Bates earlier in the day, couldn’t back it up against Mark Dudbridge. Lewis missed a stack of doubles and lost 11-7. Dudbridge was on course for a 9-darter – just missing double 12 to follow Taylor’s feat.
5th Round results:
Michael Van Gerwen 7-11 Colin Osborne
Losers - £1,500
6th Round results:
Kevin Painter 9-11 Colin Lloyd
Losers - £2,000
Quarter-final draw:
Raymond Van Barneveld v Phil Taylor
Semi-final draw:
Barneveld/Taylor v Lloyd/Hine
The action starts with the quarter-finals at 1pm on Sunday. The final is at 7pm and you can read about all Sunday’s action right here on the Unicorn website.
BY STUART PYKE
