Van Gerwen still had a lot to pick with the hairy Australian: after all, he had badly knocked him out of the World Matchplay in July. Whitlock himself should be happy to be present in the Ricoh Arena at all. Like Jeffrey de Zwaan, the 2017 Grand Prix finalist thanked his participation in the forced withdrawal of Lewis and Bunting.
Whitlock sprint weg
Whitlock got off to a good start and immediately grabbed a 2-0 lead. Van Gerwen broke him in the next leg, but was unable to cash it in and saw the man from ‘down under’ take 3-1 with the first set. Both darts players achieved a high level from the start and threw averages of well over a hundred.
Also in the first leg of the second set, ‘The Wizard’ showed himself in no way intimidated by his opponent, and he conjured up a 100 finish with two arrows on tops to break the Brabanter. ‘MvG’, which has been in a lesser form for some time, was donated in this set, as the two legs afterwards were also claimed by Australia.
‘The Wizard’ continues to play masterfully
In the third set, our compatriot had his back to the wall. Although he also showed rock-solid numbers, there was no powder to match the fantastic double work of his opponent. There was really no brake on the man with the dreadlocks, and the chance to deal the final blow to ‘Mighty Mike’ at a laying position of 2-1 in his favor, was not wasted. For the second time in a short time Van Gerwen received a knock from the man he seemed unable to lose in the past. Whitlock takes on Dirk van Duijvenbode in the semi-final.
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