Michael van Gerwen has qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay. The 32-year-old from Brabant did not have it easy, but nevertheless he settled with Englishman Ian White with 11-8.
The game remained even for a long time, until 5-5. After that, Van Gerwen quickly ran out to 10-6 and seemed to close the game. However, Van Gerwen left six match darts unused after which White came back to 10-8.
More was not given to White. Van Gerwen closed in style by finishing the game with a bullseye with a 121 finish. He remains in the race for the win of the tournament that he won in 2015 and 2016.
Van Gerwen vs. Aspinal
In the quarter-finals, Van Gerwen will meet Nathan Aspinall, who put in an excellent performance earlier in the evening by sending Gary Anderson home.
Aspinall got off to a good start and took a 3-0 lead, a margin he managed to defend for a long time. In the final phase, Anderson came close to 10-8. However, Aspinall remained cool and eliminated the Scot: 11-9.
Peter Wright upheld Scottish honors in the tournament. The eccentric darter from Livingston left little of the Englishman Joe Cullen and kept it short with 11-5. Wright will face Smith in the quarterfinals. Smith won 13-11 against Portuguese Jose de Sousa after an exciting fight in the first overtime of the tournament.
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