Former Blackpool champion Gary Anderson moves into Betfred World Matchplay semi-final

Gary Anderson will face Michael Smith in the semi-final of the 2020 Betfred World Matchplay after the pair defeated Simon Whitlock and Krzysztof Ratajski respectively at Milton Keynes' Marshall Arena on Thursday night.
Gary Anderson saw off Simon Whitlock on Thursday eveningGary Anderson saw off Simon Whitlock on Thursday evening
Gary Anderson saw off Simon Whitlock on Thursday evening

Smith began the night with a dogged display to overcome Polish number one Ratajski with a 16-13 win, before 2018 champion Anderson went on to secure his spot in the final four with a 16-12 win over Michael van Gerwen’s conqueror, Simon Whitlock.

Anderson, who came into the match on the back of a second round win over James Wade, began the match the brighter of the pair, taking a 4-1 lead into the opening interval.

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The second session began with the players exchanging a handful of 180s and holds of throw, before a moment of quality saw Whitlock break back to close the gap to one.

The Australian, left with 120, appeared to block the treble 20 bed with his first dart, and moved down the board to hit back-to-back bullseyes with Anderson stranded on 80 to hold.

Anderson immediately wrestled back the initiative, pinning double five to restore the two-leg advantage before moving three clear with a hold in the following leg.

The Scot returned from the second break to punish Whitlock again, with the former European champion unable to hold throw, allowing Anderson to move into a 10-6 lead.

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Whitlock then produced what seemed a vital recovery as he recorded four consecutive legs, including finishes of 80 and 114 to level the match up at 10-10.

Despite this fightback, Anderson once again regained control of the contest, holding throw on double 10 before finding tops for a 12-10 lead.

Once again though, the bullseye came to Whitlock’s aid as he took out 90 on the middle double to put the match back on throw.

The former back-to-back world champion then missed a dart at tops for a 101 finish, allowing Whitlock to restore parity once again at 12-12.

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Anderson’s scoring power came to the fore in the final four legs, restricting Whitlock to just one shot at the outer ring, as he secured his place in the semi-finals for the fourth time.

Anderson will meet his protégé Smith in Saturday’s semi-final after the 2019 runner-up made it into the final four with a win over Krzystof Ratajski.

The match began with Smith taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of a break of throw before Ratajski immediately broke back with a superb 128 finish on the bull.

With the match evenly poised at 5-5 the Pole took the lead for the first time with a break but was unable to press on as he was hauled back at the first attempt by Smith.

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The 14th leg saw Smith miss four darts to take an 8-6, allowing Ratajski to step in a level up at 7-7 before a stunning 161 checkout saw him break again to lead 8-7.

The Englishman, once again broke back at the first time of asking, levelling the game up this time at 8-8.

The 18th leg saw yet another ton-plus finish from Ratajski as he took out 139 on tops to see the score move to 9-9.

A hold of throw followed for Smith who then stole back the initiative on Ratajski’s throw in leg 20 to lead 11-9.

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The former world youth champion then moved further clear, pinning double six for a three-leg advantage, before yet another break of throw saw him move 13-9 ahead.

A fifth consecutive leg followed for Smith before Ratajski stopped the rot on tops to trail 14-10.

The Pole then closed the gap further with a break of throw, punishing Smith for a missed dart at tops to go within a leg of the semi-finals.

Despite constant pressure in almost every leg from Ratajski, the Englishman was able to get over the line and seal a second consecutive Matchplay semi-final appearance.

The final two spots in the semi-finals will be decided on Friday night as Adrian Lewis takes on Dimitri van den Bergh before Glen Durrant faces Vincent van der Voort.