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He will now take on Adrian Lewis in the quarter-finals but make no mistake, Painter was that good!

It was simply sensational and lived up to all the pre-match billing!

And Painter so nearly won it in real style….after being two legs down in the 6th set, he fought back and in the decider, he hit seven perfect darts! Although he missed the treble 19, a 10 darter sealed it on double 16 and the celebrations began!

“I am delighted,” said the Unicorn ace. “A 9 darter would have been nice but that winning double will do for me!”

Painter added: “It really is a great feeling because 18 months ago, I was struggling but I have been playing really well recently and who knows what can happen now. Raymond is a great champion and a fantastic bloke but this was my day. Now for Adrian Lewis!”

After a really nervy start, Barney took 26 darts to win the opening leg and finally took the set but that spurred Painter on and he produced the perfect response, racing through the second set without reply, including a 101 finish.

It just got better and that set the tone, because Painter actually won six out of seven legs and breezed through the 3rd set, including his fourth maximum and an 11-darter, which had Barney on the ropes.

Barneveld came back to level the match at two sets apiece but you just got the feeling that this was Painter’s day. He produced a brilliant 11 darter to take the next set in the deciding leg against the throw and then came that truly amazing finish.

It looks like Unicorn is heading for another World Championship, because incredibly seven of the eight men in the quarter-finals are Team Unicorn stars….Wayne Mardle is the exception.

John Part set up a showdown with James Wade by demolishing Alex Roy by four sets to nil. The Canadian has lost only two sets in the entire event so far and is in his first quarter-final at the World Championship, since he won it in 2003.

“I felt very comfortable but I know it is going to get tougher from here on in. James may be struggling with the flu but he can still produce something special. I will have to be on my game,” Part said.

After winning the first set with ease, he took out 110 and 106 to take the second, then 105 for set three and that knocked all the spirit out of Roy. Part wrapped it up in under an hour, with an average of 91 and a useful 46 per cent check-out success rate.

Peter Manley reached the World Championship quarter-finals for the 7th time, where he will now face Unicorn starlet Kirk Shepherd. ‘One Dart’ lived up to his reputation and a 50 per cent check-out success rate tipped the scales his way against Dutch qualifier Jan van der Rassel.

After losing the first set, Manley stormed back to take four consecutive sets and in the end it was a convincing win. In that opening set, Manley took out 96 with single 20, double top, double 18….he then missed three darts to win it and saw the Dutchman take out 116!

That was the signal for Manley to step up to the plate and he did….he wasted no time in levelling the match and came from two legs down to win set three. After that the finishing power was the key, because Van der Rassel blew four darts to make it two sets all and Manley hit double 10.

He missed four more in set five and double six from Manley handed him victory on a plate.

“I think the break has done me good, although it was like a sauna on the stage but again, my experience of playing in an atmosphere like that, in front of crowds like that, helped me.”

And what about that all Unicorn semi-final? “All credit to young Kirk,” said Manley. “He has done fantastically well but I won’t be missing my doubles like his previous opponents.”

We shall see!

It was a dramatic Friday afternoon, which served up a hat-trick of Unicorn triumphs.

James Wade, struck down by the flu, did what he had to against Mark Dudbridge. After losing the opening set, he won three on the spin and eventually won 4-2.

Adrian Lewis conjured up a magical fightback to beat Tony Eccles in a tie-break to set up that mouth-watering quarter-final against Painter

But he was involved in a touch of controversy – going for a toilet break at two legs apiece in the final set, just before the tie-break started. It was still a stunning show from the Unicorn youngster, because he lost the first eight legs of the match, before storming back to win by 4 legs to 2 in that dramatic tie-break.

And rookie Kirk Shepherd is still pinching himself….a World Championship quarter-finalist on his debut at the tournament. He was too good for Barrie Bates in the all Unicorn clash and including the qualifiers, Shepherd has now won eight matches to reach this stage!

Friday 3rd Round results:

Kirk Shepherd 4-2 Barrie Bates
Adrian Lewis 4-3 Tony Eccles
James Wade 4-2 Mark Dudbridge
Peter Manley 4-1 Jan van der Rassel
Raymond Van Barneveld 2-4 Kevin Painter
Alex Roy 0-4 John Part

Saturday Quarter-Final order of play (best of nine sets):

Peter Manley v Kirk Shepherd
John Part v James Wade
Phil Taylor v Wayne Mardle
Kevin Painter v Adrian Lewis

BY STUART PYKE

Photo courtesy of Chris Sargeant