Durrant denies Wright to reach World Matchplay Quarter-Finals as Van der Voort thrashes Gurney

Glen Durrant secured his spot in a second successive World Matchplay Quarter-Final with an 11-8 victory over Peter Wright on Wednesday, as Vincent van der Voort, Dimitri van den Bergh and Adrian Lewis also progressed.

Durrant, the three-time BDO World Champion, twice battled back from behind to send home ‘Snakebite’ and reach the Last Eight of the prestigious major at the Marshall Arena.

Wright began strongly by bursting into a 4-1 lead, before ‘Duzza’ reeled off six consecutive legs with clutch finishing to turn the match on its head and lead 7-4.

Durrant, who had produced checkouts of 99 and 108, then held firm to fend off a Wright revival, the world number two taking out 86 and 121 on the bull to level at seven-all.

Wright then hit the front but missed a dart at tops to go two clear, allowing Durrant to pounce and restore parity before regaining the lead at 9-8.

The Middlesbrough ace then took out 74 to go to the verge of victory – which he sealed in the following leg to continue his superb run in PDC majors.

“I’m so proud to have won that game,” said Durrant. “I’ve got so much respect for our World Champion and to beat him means the world.

“You’ve got to grab these opportunities while you can.

“Of course if you looked at the draw you would expect to face Daryl but take nothing away from Vincent, he is playing as well as anyone and these conditions suit him more than Blackpool.

“I won’t take my eye off the ball, I know I need to play well to beat him.”

Van der Voort progressed to the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2009 by virtue of an 11-5 rout of a below-par Gurney.

The world number 33 raced out of the blocks, powering his way into a 5-0 lead and punishing four misses at doubles from Gurney.

Despite a brief fightback from the two-time major winner, it was Van der Voort who got over the line with a 97.6 average and five 180s.

“I can’t tell you how good it feels to win this game,” said Van der Voort. “It’s something you dream of to be at your best and win against top players.

“I’m not used to being 5-0 and 8-2 up so it was a little awkward for me finishing the game off but it was good to get the win.

“When I am playing one game a day I can beat anybody, things just have to go my way.

“I just try and take one leg at a time and I feel great, so bring on the next match.”

Adrian Lewis continued his impressive resurgence by defeating Danny Noppert 11-7 to seal his spot in the Quarter-Finals.

The pair both struggled to hold their throw and could not be separated after 12 legs, with Lewis’ heavier scoring counteracted by Noppert’s efficient finishing.

The breakthrough, however, came in leg 13 as Lewis broke again with a 70 finish to lead 7-6 before consolidating that with finishes of 62 and 64 to make it 9-6.

Lewis continued the barrage with double eight for a 14-darter, and though Noppert stopped the rot in leg 17, a clinical 86 checkout for an 11-darter in the next clinched the win.

“I’m feeling fitter and I’m feeling a lot more positive. I know I can be better but these are good signs,” said Lewis, who averaged just shy of 100.

“I tried to get myself going but Danny is a top player and doesn’t give you much back, I had to work hard for that.”

Van den Bergh booked his place in the Last Eight in his debut Betfred World Matchplay campaign by defeating Joe Cullen 11-9.

Cullen opened up a 5-2 lead despite two ton plus finishes from the Belgian – who produced a clinical 138 to kick-start the revival.

The former World Youth Champion went on to level the match at 8-8, punishing Culled for missing three darts at doubles to go 9-7 up.

The pair then traded breaks of throw until a scrappy 20th leg eventually saw Van den Bergh break throw and get over the line on double one.

“It wasn’t easy today but I’m so happy to say I am starting to win ugly games, this is very important,” admitted Van den Bergh.

“It’s time to start being a bit more arrogant on stage. I have dreams and now it’s time to go out and get them, no more excuses.”

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Betfred World Matchplay 2020 Results

Wednesday July 22

Second Round
Vincent van der Voort 11-5 Daryl Gurney
Dimitri Van den Bergh 11-9 Joe Cullen
Glen Durrant 11-8 Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis 11-7 Danny Noppert