Dolan keeps his eyes on the prize in scrappy win
BThe Fermanaghman has been in the form of his life at Alexandra Palace, and he showed no signs of nerves as he burst into a 3-0 advantage.
Dutchman Van des Pas landed a two-dart 88 checkout to win his first set and make it 3-1 but Dolan didn’t falter, hitting double four to swing the fifth set and set up a last-eight meeting with England’s Nathan Aspinall.
It’s been a brilliant tournament for Dolan, who’s reaping the rewards of a much more intense practising regime.
‘It was about getting over the line,’ the 45-year-old said afterwards.
‘I went home for Christmas, hadn’t thrown in a couple of days, came back and practised a lot yesterday to try and catch up but you never really can do that.
‘Today, I didn’t feel as comfortable as I have on the other days but it was about getting to the quarter-finals. I was prepared to scrap it out. I didn’t think it was going to be a lot to look at.
‘I’ve got further than I’ve ever got before. I have to take it on the chin and say that this is a brilliant experience. But I’ve got a great opportunity. I need to keep focused on the dart board. Forget about who I’m playing, just keep it on the dart board.’
Meanwhile, James Wade became the latest high-profile player to be knocked out of the Championship after losing 4-3 to Ryan Joyce. The ninth seed had led 3-2 but, despite missing a total of 10 darts to take the match, it was the world number 78 who eventually hit the double four to set up a quarter-final meeting with Michael Van Gerwen. Wade was given a mixed welcome onto the stage at the Alexandra Palace after his controversial post-match comments - which he later apologised for — that he “wanted to really hurt” Japanese opponent Seigo Asada earlier in the tournament. That appeared to put him on the back foot early on as he lost the first set but he responded in fine style to pick up the next two. The duo traded blows but when Wade failed to check out from 106, it gave Joyce the chance to put his marker down and eventually seal the game after it looked as though he may have missed his chance. Favourite Michael Van Gerwen is taking it one opponent at a time, despite powering his way into the quarter-finals with a commanding victory over Adrian Lewis. ‘I made myself work hard, to be fair. I had a few darts to already be 3-0 up in sets and I gave him too much confidence. I shouldn’t put myself in that position. ‘But I think everyone could see my form is there. When I had to, I produced 11, 11, 11, 12 in the last two sets. ‘From here, I can build on to the next round. I feel good.’