Gary Anderson continued his campaign for a third PDC World Darts Championship title after a heady back-and-forth with Mensur Suljovic at London’s Alexandra Palace on Monday night.
Down 3-2, “The Flying Scottsman” won the final six legs of the match in a comeback that edged out the 48-year-old Austrian, 4-3.
The 50-year-old Anderson expressed displeasure with Suljovic’s style in the post-game interview. He said his nagging knee injury was aggravated in the 90-minute yawner, which featured 33 missed darts at double before he started on the comeback, converting four ton-plus (100-points or more) checkouts, including one 156-point combination to take the match.
Price defeats Dolan in Sudden Death to Set Up Meeting with Mervyn King
Anderson and Suljovic have a friendly rivalry; the pair faced one another in the 2018 World Matchplay final in what’s known as one of the decade’s greatest contests.
📃 Gary Anderson stayed on course for his third World Championship title after coming through a tungsten tear-up with Mensur Suljovic at Alexandra Palace.#WHDarts #LoveTheDarts
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 28, 2020
In other action, No. 3 in the world, Gerwyn Price defeated Brendan Dolan in a sudden-death leg to press forward to the round of 16.
“Brendan was playing really well on throw, and he punished me when I missed opportunities, but thankfully that last double went in,” Price said in the post-game press event.
The Welshman hit nine 180s, including a 170 checkout to set up a meeting Tuesday with Englishman Mervyn King, who defeated Jose de Sousa Monday in four straight sets. It will be the 54-year-old King’s first time in the round of 16 since the 2014 World Championship.
Price (-260 on Bovada) and King (+195) are a go Wednesday evening in London.
Underrated Durrant Will Face van Duijvenbode in Round of 16
Glenn Durrant (Even) defeated Danny Baggish Monday 4-2 to advance to face 28-year-old Dutch young gun, Dirk van Duijvenbode (-150), who cruised into the round of 16 with a 4-0 victory over Adam Hunt.
ðŸ—£ï¸ "He's such a good player, I'm so happy with that win…"
Glen Durrant reflects on his 4-2 victory against Danny Baggish and feeling like he's going under the radar.
#⃣ #WHDarts #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/HUNmWFFQRX
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 28, 2020
Action resumes at 4:15 a.m. EST Tuesday as a pair of 30-something Englishmen, James Wade (-350), and Steven “The Bullet” Bunting (+250) face off.
North Americans can tune into the PDC World Darts Championship, including the final on Sunday, Jan. 3, at skysports.com/darts, or by using the skysports app.
