Sydney Darts Masters 2015: Scores, Results, Updated Schedule After Thursday
The finest darts players in the world took to the oche Down Under on Thursday, as the Sydney Darts Masters got underway.
Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen were among the eight PDC players who progressed into the quarter-finals after matches against unseeded players. Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Stephen Bunting, Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis joined them.
Here’s a look back at some of the best bits from Day 1, including full tournament results and the quarter-final schedule.
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| Raymond van Barneveld | 6-3 | Cody Harris |
| Stephen Bunting | 6-1 | David Platt |
| James Wade | 6-2 | Craig Caldwell |
| Gary Anderson | 6-0 | Warren Parry |
| Peter Wright | 6-3 | Loz Ryder |
| Phil Taylor | 6-2 | Clinton Bridge |
| Adrian Lewis | 6-5 | Simon Whitlock |
| Michael van Gerwen | 6-2 | Paul Nicholson |
| Phil Taylor (1) | vs. | Stephen Bunting (8) |
| Peter Wright (4) | vs. | James Wade (5) |
| Michael van Gerwen (2) | vs. | Raymond van Barneveld (7) |
| Gary Anderson (3) | vs. | Adrian Lewis (6) |
Big Names Coast into Quarter-Finals
Taylor is hoping to grab his third win in a row in the Sydney showpiece, and he got his tournament off to a strong start with a hard-earned victory over Clinton Bridge.
After the Australian battled gamely to ensure the first five legs went with throw, Taylor upped the ante with the finishing line in sight. The top seed broke his opponent in the sixth leg and from there he didn’t look back, going on to win 6-2.
As we can see here per Live Darts, Bridge didn’t actually play too badly; The Power just didn’t give him any opportunities:
Bunting is the man who awaits Taylor in the quarters, and he was much improved after a disappointing exit in Round 1 of the Perth Masters last time out.
The PDC man, who is seeded eighth for this competition, stormed into a 3-0 lead thanks to some clinical finishing. Although Platt was able to get one leg won, there was a clear chasm in class for Bunting to exploit, running out a 6-1 winner.
As the man from St Helens noted, their quarter-final clash will be a repeat of last year’s final, per the tournament's Twitter account:
Anderson was definitely the most impressive of all the day’s competitors. The world champion dispatched of Warren Parry by a 6-0 scoreline, getting on top of his opponent early by capitalising on missed opportunities. From that point on, the man from New Zealand looked a little overwhelmed and crumbled under the pressure of Anderson's heavy scoring.
The Scotsman admitted afterwards he felt a little sorry for his opponent, who failed to get a leg on the board at all:
Lewis is the man awaiting Anderson in the final eight, as he came out on top in what was undoubtedly the match of the night.
Simon Whitlock is an Aussie player with major pedigree, and he caught Lewis off guard initially to go 4-1 in front. But the two-time world champion recovered brilliantly to win the next four legs before the crowd favourite forced a decider.
With the darts in hand, it was the third seed who stepped up in the 11th leg, making it 6-5 on the night and sending Whitlock packing. As we can see, it was a leg that Lewis won in style:
Another quarter-final on Friday will be an all-Dutch affair, as Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld both won their matches in impressive style. The latter opened the tournament with a confident 6-3 win over New Zealand’s Cody Harris, while Van Gerwen was too strong for Paul Nicholson, waltzing to a 6-2 triumph despite having to finish on double one on two separate occasions.
The compatriots met at the same stage at the Perth Masters, with Van Gerwen coming out on top 8-4 on that occasion; you can bet Barney will be beset on revenge this time round.
Wade and Wright will contest the other quarter-final after their victories. As we can see, the former comes into this tournament in tremendous shape after his final at Perth last time out:
The Machine shone again Down Under with a confident win over Craig Caldwell, as Wright, who delighted the fans with his colourful antics, beat Loz Ryder by a 6-3 scoreline.
Although Anderson showed wonderful form and Wade was extremely clinical, it’s tough to see past another Taylor tournament victory as we look ahead to the quarter-finals. He loves this venue, is throwing superbly and as the pressure bites for a lot of these players in the latter stages, the man form Stoke-on-Trent knows how to keep his cool under pressure.
Seedings via PDC.tv
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