Sydney Darts Masters 2015: Scores, Results, Updated Schedule After Friday

Defending champion Phil Taylor eased through to the semi-finals of the 2015 Sydney Darts Masters on Friday as he downed Stephen Bunting 8-2 in the quarters.  

World No. 1 Michael van Gerwen did not have such a good day, though, as he was dumped out of the Australian tournament after an 8-4 defeat to fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld.

James Wade was downed by Scotsman Peter Wright while Adrian Lewis beat world champion Gary Anderson at the Qantas Credit Union Arena.

Here are the full results from Friday's action along with semi-final fixtures and a full recap of the last-eight action.

Player	Result	Player
Phil Taylor (1)	8-2	Stephen Bunting (8)
Peter Wright (4)	8-6	James Wade (5)
Michael van Gerwen (2)	4-8	Raymond van Barneveld (7)
Gary Anderson (3)	7-8	Adrian Lewis (6)

Match	Fixture
1	Phil Taylor vs. Peter Wright
2	Raymond van Barneveld vs. Adrian Lewis

Taylor Marches on in Pursuit of Third in a Row

The Power is aiming for a third Sydney title in a row, and he looked in fine form against Bunting.

The encounter started tightly as the pair exchanged the first four legs for 2-2. Taylor made a statement of intent with a 121 checkout to go 3-2 ahead, and he took the sixth after Bunting missed two opportunities at a winning double.

The 30-year-old could not claim any momentum back after that, and Taylor took four legs in a row to claim his spot in the last four.

As the stats reveal, the 16-time world champion was in excellent form, averaging at over 100, per Sydney Darts Masters:

Van Barneveld put in a stunning performance to topple Van Gerwen in convincing fashion, staking a serious claim for the Sydney title.

Barney found form from the off as he broke his compatriot's throw in the very first leg. Having held his own throw, he then broke again for 3-0 with a 108 checkout.

There was no let up for Van Gerwen who could never catch his opponent despite showing decent form to win his first leg for 4-1 with a 12-darter.

At 7-2, Van Barneveld missed a match dart, and Van Gerwen had a sniff of a comeback as he got back to 7-4. But Barney eventually closed out the match and was clearly delighted with his performance, per Live Darts:

Lewis and Anderson thrashed out the tightest encounter of the evening as they went to a decider, with the Englishman eventually prevailing. 

It was a match of broken throws as both players failed to hold with any regularity. There were four breaks in a row to see Lewis to 6-5, and Anderson finally held to level at 6-6.

The Flying Scotsman then produced an excellent 100 checkout under pressure to force a decider, but Lewis proved the winner in the end in an excellent contest.

Wright managed to edge Wade in a tight encounter in the opening clash of the evening's action.

The Scot took an early lead but went 6-5 down as England's Wade produced some fine finishes—of 141 and 120—to seemingly take the momentum.

However, Wade missed several crucial doubles in the final legs, and Snakebite took advantage, eventually sealing an 8-6 win.

Wright has a tough task in the semi-finals as he meets Taylor, while Van Barneveld will meet Lewis in Saturday's action with a final place at stake.