Disappointment for both Merseyside men as Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall crash out of the grand slam of darts in the quarter-finals.
Both players headed into their games in good form, Chisnall stormed through Ryan Harrington in the previous game with 10-3 win. Smith also put in a brilliant last-16 display with a 10-7 win over world number 6 Daryl Gurney. Tonight however, it wasn’t meant to be.
Dave Chisnall opened up the action against a very much in-form Peter Wright. Dave looked the better of the two early on and took a 6-4 lead in the race to 16. After the second interval Peter Wright changed the shape of flights he was using. This turned out to be a master stroke from Snakebite.
Wright went through a purple patch of superb double hitting and found himself 13-8 ahead in no time. Despite this dominance Chisnall refused to be beaten, he fought back to make it 13-12 but that’s all he could do. Wright composed himself on the doubles and took the win 16-12. A high-quality game from both players.
Merseyside’s chances of bringing home the Grand Slam relied on world number 3 Michael who faced Glen Durrant. Like Chisnall, Smith started the match in explosive fashion. The first two intervals belonged to Michael who took a 6-4 lead. This seemed to really fire Duzza up. The man from Middlesbrough went on to win eight consecutive legs and looked to have the beating of Smith early. A barrage of double 16 hitting gave Durrant the eventual win 16-12 to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Despite the local men being eliminated there is still some tasty clashes to unfold. Tomorrow see’s a repeat of last year’s controversial final where Gerwyn Price beat Gary Anderson. It also sees a clash of world champions as world number one Michael Van Gerwen comes toe-to-toe with a rejuvenated Adrian Lewis.
