James Wade and José de Sousa reached the final of the Grand Slam of Darts on Monday. The Englishman won in a thriller 16-15 against Dimitri Van den Bergh. The Portuguese debutant was too strong for Simon Whitlock, 16-12, who eliminated Michael van Gerwen on Sunday.
The final battle will be played on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Coventry, England. The winner will receive a cash prize of 125,000 British pounds (over 139,000 euros).
For 37-year-old Wade, it is the third time that he is in the final of the Grand Slam of Darts, which is normally played in Wolverhampton, but has been moved due to corona. In 2016 he lost to Van Gerwen and six years earlier Scott Waites was too strong.
De Sousa has never been in the final battle of a television tournament. Reaching the third round at the UK Open was his best result in a major this year.
–
–
–
–
José de Sousa was the first Portuguese to qualify for the final of a television tournament. (Photo: ANP)
Wade survives matchdart against Van den Bergh
Wade was behind the entire match against Van den Bergh. However, ‘The Machine’ fought back from a 9-13 deficit to 14-14. Van den Bergh, winner of the World Matchplay earlier this season, then also gave up a 15-14 lead and missed a match dart. The experienced Wade then struck.
Earlier in the evening, De Sousa was the first Portuguese darter ever to reach the final of a major tournament. The number 34 in the world started his match against Whitlock with difficulty, but steadily walked away from the Australian from 8-8.
After the Grand Slam of Darts, another major is scheduled for this month with the Players Championship Finals (27-29 November). The World Cup starts on December 15.
– .
