- Three-time PDC world champion beat Swede 4-2 in last 16
- Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall also advance
A statement win for Michael van Gerwen, but also in its own way an exclamation, a command and question. The sheer character Van Gerwen showed as he fought off a sizzling comeback from Jeffrey de Graaf! Whatever you thought you knew about Van Gerwen’s chances of claiming his fourth world title, reconsider them now. Because on this form it’s worth asking: who stops him?
To watch the world No 3 and the world No 81 punch lumps out of each other in front of a riotous Alexandra Palace crowd was to discover a thorough repudiation of Newton’s third law of motion. Here every action seemed to produce a violently disproportionate reaction. First Van Gerwen sailed into a two-set lead, abetted by a painfully off-beam De Graaf. Then the Swede exploded after the break, whitewashing the third set in just 40 darts and sensationally levelling the match at 2-2.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/30/van-gerwen-holds-off-de-graaf-comeback-to-seal-quarter-final-spot-pdc-world-darts
Author : Jonathan Liew at Alexandra Palace
Publish date : 2024-12-30 22:48:34
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