VAN GERWEN IS DUTCH MASTER
World No.1 sees off countryman Barney in a thriller to stay on track for another title
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN was King of the Dutch at the Palace last night as he stayed on course for back-to-back William Hill World Championship titles.
The world No.1 will play Rob Cross in a mouthwatering semi-final tonight after seeing off Raymond van Barneveld in a magnificent quarter-final that went all the way.
Van Gerwen, looking to win the Sid Waddell Trophy for a third time, came through 5-4 after the deciding set of a thrilling clash where the old master came agonisingly close to knocking out his pupil for a second time in three years.
Having stunned van Gerwen in 2015, Barney had a host of chances to do it again – only to falter right at the finale as Holland’s new hero held it together to storm into the semis.
Van Gerwen said: “Everyone could only dream of a match like that and I’m just glad I was the winner at the end.
“Raymond played really well and I didn’t expect him to keep his motivation up for as long.
“Normally, he starts shaking his head when he’s behind but he didn’t do that once. That was a positive thing for him but the negative is I’m the one who is through.
“We both come from Holland and we really want to beat each other. I did the right things at the right times and the win gives me confidence.
“In the beginning, I didn’t feel that good and I was struggling.
“There were 18 breaks of throw in the game and it’s not nice because that means you are useless on your own throw and it shouldn’t be like that.
“I wasn’t too sure of myself during that part of the game. Then at 3-1 up I was quite confident yet Raymond came good again and it is some time since I’ve seen him fight for that long.”
The match was slow to catch fire but when it did it was classic. Not one player held throw during a nervy opening set and van Gerwen took advantage as Barney missed three to nick it, only to hand his advantage straight back during a sloppy second set. It was more of the same in the third with neither Dutchman able to get a real handle on the contest.
Again Barney had three chances to nab the set and move into the lead. Again he wasted every one of them as the world No.1 regained the lead.
Finally managing to find some of his usual sparkle through the clutter, the Green Machine bagged a double seven to move into a 3-1 lead. But Barney just would not go away and rolled back the years during a vintage two-set spell that saw him take out four ton-plus finishes on his way to restoring parity.
That brought the crowd and the contest to life and sparked an incredible ending.
Barney had the momentum at that stage and had he converted a double 18 to take the opening leg of the seventh to go in front, he might have been able to recount a different story this morning.
But after wiring that key chance, van Gerwen stepped back onto the gas to go 4-3 up. By now it was edge-of-the-seat stuff and Barney produced more magic against the odds to level again and take it all the way.
But van Gerwen was just too strong in the decider as he remains in line for an Ally Pally hat-trick. Cross is next and the victor said: “Rob is a fantastic player but hasn’t beaten me on the TV as yet.
“I hope I can keep going with my good performances. He is a fabulous player and his past year has been phenomenal.
“I just hope I can make things a little bit easier for myself. That would be nice.”