Unibet Darts Masters 2015: Daily Results, Updated Draw, Schedule and More
Michael van Gerwen won the 2015 Unibet Masters on Sunday at ArenaMK in Milton Keynes, the Dutchman downing his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in the final.
In an unfamiliar city and and at an unfamiliar time of year, this season's £200,000 tournament still saw the world's top 16 players battling it out across two days of play.
Defending champion James Wade opened up with a victory against Mervyn King on Saturday evening before falling to Gary Anderson in the quarter-finals, while the legendary Phil Taylor lost in the first round.
Read on for the results and recap from each session.
Schedule and Updated Draw
1 of 5
Sunday February 1
Evening Session
Final
Michael van Gerwen 11-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 11-6 Adrian Lewis
Raymond van Barneveld 11-6 Gary Anderson
February 1, Evening Session
2 of 5
Results
Final
Michael van Gerwen 11-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 11-6 Adrian Lewis
Raymond van Barneveld 11-6 Gary Anderson
Recap
Michael van Gerwen produced some impressive darts as he won an all-Dutch Masters final 11-6 against Raymond van Barneveld at ArenaMK in Milton Keynes on Sunday.
The world No. 1 looked in fine form in the evening session having come through an incredible quarter-final encounter against Dave Chisnall, sweeping past Adrian Lewis in the last four.
Barney—who saw off an underwhelming Gary Anderson in his semi-final—started the match well, staying in touch with Van Gerwen and moving into the lead at 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3.
However, Van Gerwen put himself firmly in the driving seat as he won the next five legs to open up a four-leg lead at 8-4.
Two 13-darters and a 161 checkout showed just how well the Dutchman was playing, and Van Barneveld did well to stem the tide, winning the 13th leg 8-5.
However, it never seemed likely that Van Gerwen would be caught and—while two nine-darters went begging—the leg-wins kept on coming.
He eased in double 18 to win the match 11-6, finishing with an incredible average of 112.49, and Barney never really stood a chance once Van Gerwen stretched his lead in the middle stages.
He becomes the third different winner of the Masters in its third year—following James Wade and Phil Taylor—and he takes the £60,000 first prize.
February 1, Afternoon Session
3 of 5
Results
Peter Wright 8-10 Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen 10-9 Dave Chisnall
Terry Jenkins 3-10 Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade 5-10 Gary Anderson
Recap
Michael van Gerwen squeezed into the Unibet Masters semi-finals on Sunday as he pipped Dave Chisnall 10-9 in a classic encounter.
Both players averaged in excess of 108 with Chisnall throwing an extraordinary 13 maximums, but the Dutch world No. 1 prevailed in a deciding leg.
Van Gerwen and Chisnall traded blows throughout an electrifying encounter with some incredible darts, no player ever gaining a lead of more than two legs.
At 9-9, it was anyone's game, but Van Gerwen downed the St Helens man with a phenomenal 126 checkout to advance to the last four.
He will meet Adrian Lewis in the semi-final after the 30-year-old downed Peter Wright in another tight clash, eventually prevailing 10-8.
It was nip and tuck to 7-7 until Lewis finally moved to within one leg of victory before the Scot clawed one back for 9-8.
However, Lewis found his ninth maximum of the match and took out a 78 finish to claim a crucial win and advances to within one round of the final.
Defending champion James Wade fell at the quarter-final stage, losing 10-5 to world champion Gary Anderson despite a spirited fightback which saw the Englishman claw back to 6-5 having been 5-0 down.
However, Anderson was clinical as he saw out the match victory, taking the winning leg with a fine 130 finish and he marches on into the semi-finals to face Raymond van Barneveld.
The Dutchman made short work of the Phil Taylor-toppling Terry Jenkins, Barney winning the opening five legs to set up an eventual 10-3 win.
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January 31, Evening Session
4 of 5
Results
James Wade 10-3 Mervyn King
Phil Taylor 7-10 Terry Jenkins
Gary Anderson 10-2 Andy Hamilton
Michael van Gerwen 10-5 Wes Newton
Recap
Phil Taylor was clearly not at his best on Saturday as he fell in the first round of the Unibet Masters, but Terry Jenkins put in a fine performance to beat the 2013 champion 10-7.
Jenkins rocketed into a 5-0 lead as he took advantage of several missed doubles from Taylor, failure to finish very much being the story of the match for the world No. 2.
Although Taylor clawed it back to 7-6, Jenkins was not to be reeled in, and he moved on to the quarter-finals where he will face Raymond van Barneveld.
There was no such trouble for Michael van Gerwen in the first round, the Dutchman seeing off Wes Newton 10-5 in Saturday's final match.
The Englishman was never really in the contest from 2-1, the world No.1 winning four successive legs to make it 6-1 and effectively wrap up the win.
While Newton was far from demolished, Van Gerwen moved serenely through to set up a quarter-final date with Dave Chisnall.
James Wade made a convincing start to his title defence, beating Mervyn King 10-3 in a repeat of the 2014 Masters final.
The Machine set the tone with a 115 checkout to take the opening leg before opening up a 5-0 lead from which King could not return.
Wade booked himself a quarter-final place with a 94 finish for a 14-dart leg, and his next opponent will be Gary Anderson, the Scot having beaten Andy Hamilton 10-2 on Saturday evening.
Anderson won five consecutive legs from 5-2 to claim his victory and he will provide Wade with a stern test on Sunday.
January 31, Afternoon Session
5 of 5
Results
Peter Wright 10-1 Brendan Dolan
Robert Thornton 5-10 Dave Chisnall
Adrian Lewis 10-4 Ian White
Simon Whitlock 7-10 Raymond van Barneveld
Recap
Raymond van Barneveld edged a close encounter against Simon Whitlock in the first round of the Unibet Masters, the Dutchman eventually prevailing 10-7 in Saturday's first session.
Whitlock came out of the traps fast, responding to his opponent's 180 in the first leg with a monster checkout of 167 to lead 1-0.
Barney then took five consecutive legs to open up a comfortable lead in the best-of-19 encounter and looked to be cruising to victory.
However, his Australian opponent rallied and managed to claw the deficit back to just a single leg at 6-5, but Van Barneveld eventually prevailed courtesy of some clinical finishing—including a 111 finish for 8-5.
Dave Chisnall was more comfortable in taking his opener 10-5 against Robert Thornton, the world No. 9 making a flying start to win the first leg with a 14-darter.
He opened up a 4-0 lead before being pegged back to 4-3 by Thornton, but Chisnall's quality was there for all to see as he eventually won out with a phenomenal 106.30 average, per PDC.
Adrian Lewis made easy work of Ian White as the 2013 finalist opened up a 4-0 lead early on, and never fell back within three legs of his opponent, eventually winning 10-4.
He will take on Peter Wright in the quarter-finals, the Scot having crushed Brendan Dolan 10-1, only finally relinquishing a leg when 9-0 to the the good.
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