PDC World Championship Quarter Final
KIRK SHEPHERD produced a sensational performance to knock Peter Manley out of the 2008 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship in a nine-set thriller.
The youngster was 4-3 down and faced darts for the match in the third leg of the deciding set, but came through to reach the semi-finals at his first attempt.
KIRK SHEPHERD 5-4 PETER MANLEY
(3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 4-2)
Shepherd showed no nerves at the start of the match, taking the first set without reply in a superb start.
He then had a dart for a 2-0 lead, but missed double 16 for 102 finish in the deciding leg and a relieved Manley landed double ten to level.
The number five seed broke throw at the start of the third set with a 13-dart finish to lead for the first time in the match, but Shepherd immediately hit back with a 13-dart leg of his own.
Shepherd took a 2-1 lead, and then had four darts at double top to take the set in the next leg, but failed to convert and Manley levelled, hitting double ten.
He also gave Manley a chance to steal the next before returning to land double 16 and regain the lead.
The fourth set also went to a deciding leg but Manley was clinical and landed a 15-dart finish to level again.
Manley then took a 3-2 lead with some superb checkouts, which included a 156 finish in the first leg followed by checkouts of 76, and 60 to win the set.
Shepherd broke throw at the beginning of the sixth set after Manley had missed opportunities to take it, and then doubled his lead with a 104 finish.
Manley took the third leg with a fantastic 11-dart finish, but Shepherd hit double 16 to take the set.
The Carlisle-based star then took a 4-3 lead, breaking Shepherd’s throw in the deciding leg to go one set away from victory.
But Shepherd showed great character to take the eighth set, breaking throw in the first leg and hitting an 11-dart finish in the second.
Manley took the next leg, but Shepherd hit a 70 finish to take the game to a deciding set.
Manley took the opening two legs of the deciding set, and then had two darts to win the match in the third leg, but failed to take them and Shepherd landed a pressure double four with his last dart to remain in the contest.
Shepherd then took the fourth leg and hit his ninth maximum of the contest at the start of the fifth leg as he moved in front.
Shepherd was then on a nine-dart finish in the sixth leg, hitting two 180s but missing the seventh treble 20.
He returned to land double five to stun Manley and win an amazing match.
“It’s a dream come true, I can’t believe it,” said Shepherd. “If someone had said to me at the start of the competition that I’d reach the semi-finals I’d have settled for that – but I’m not finished yet.
“I’m on a roll and I want to keep going.”
Jenkins and McGowan both had darts to defeat Shepherd, and Manley wasted two match darts, but Shepherd added: “At the end of the day, it’s not my fault if they don’t hit their doubles and I take my chances.
“It’s a lot about confidence and luckily I have a lot of confidence and I held my nerve. In the last set I got my chance and really went for it.
“I wasn’t thinking about the nine-dart finish, I was just concentrating on getting to the double and hitting it. Luckily enough I did.”
JOHN PART 5-4 JAMES WADE
(3-2, 3-0, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 0-3, 4-2)
TWO-TIME World Champion John Part won another thrilling final-set quarter-final at Alexandra Palace to defeat world number three James Wade.
Part led 2-0 and 3-1 before coming through in the deciding set to reach the semi-finals for the first time since he won the event in 2003.
Both players had a chance to win a competitive opening set, but the Canadian landed double top to take the lead.
Part took a 2-0 lead in the second set, Wade missing a number of doubles to win both legs.
He then held throw to double his advantage, hitting his third maximum of the game.
Wade started to get into the match and took the third set with a fantastic 141 checkout to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Part broke throw at the start of the fourth set with a 127 finish, but Wade hit back immediately with a 148 checkout.
Part broke Wade’s throw again with a 16 darter, and then took the set in the next leg to regain his two-set lead.
But Wade, the winner of the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix this year, came back to take the next two sets and level matters.
He took the fifth set in a deciding leg, which included checkouts of 68, 101, and 70, and then took the sixth with a 106 checkout in the fourth leg to break throw and level the game.
The opening two legs of the seventh set where shared before Part then hit double nine to take a 2-1 lead.
The Canadian then won the set in the next leg, hitting a 60 finish to regain his advantage, after Wade missed a dart at double 12 for a 104 finish.
Part missed a number of opportunities in the eighth set, and Wade made the Canadian pay for his mistakes to take a second quarter-final of the day to a deciding set.
Wade then took the lead for the first time in the match, when he hit a clinical two dart 97 finish to take the first leg of the final set.
Part came back to lead 2-1, but Wade produced a fantastic 11-darter under pressure to take the set into a tie-break situation.
Part took a 3-2 lead, by landing double 16, and then hit a vital 113 checkout to win the match, with his opponent waiting on 20.
“Maybe James wasn’t at his best but he’s a class player and I feel very fortunate to get into the semis,” said Part.
“I knew if I kept hitting the 97s and 96s that I’d be in with a shot.
“There were a few missed chances but my mind’s racing on everything before it was four-all – you have to play from there.
“I was ahead a couple of times and he came back really well but the final set was very satisfying.
“James is as good a player as you can play on stage. He’s lethal and if you give him a chance he will exploit it, most of the time he caught me up when I made a mistake.
“He’s won major titles already and I’ve no doubt whatsoever that he’s got it in him to win World Championships.”
Wade admitted: “I tried as hard as I could but John was better than me on the day. It’s disappointing and I’m annoyed with myself.”
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