Stephen Bunting battles past Gary Anderson in World Matchplay thriller
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Stephen Bunting saw off a Gary Anderson fightback and battled his way to a 12-10 last-16 victory in a scrappy encounter at the World Matchplay in Blackpool.
It took a while for both players to shift into a gear as doubles proved troublesome for the pair throughout the match, which went beyond the allotted 21 legs.
The contest went back and forth but Bunting, who also missed double 12 for a nine-darter, chalked off five straight legs to make it 9-6 and it looked like he would go on to seal a comfortable victory.
However, Anderson survived match darts as he fought back to make it a level game but Bunting finally got the job done to win by two clear legs and seal the win.
Both players averaged less than 30 per cent on checkouts which made for darting drama and Bunting admitted to being nervous on stage.
After the match, he told Sky Sports: 'He's a quality operator. One of the best players to grace the stage and I have nothing but respect for Gary Anderson, and what a win in my career.
'I felt nervous anyway. I've got (son) Theo with me tonight, Toby, the missus, but we're through and I can relax now.
'I feel great and playing the best darts of my life and enjoying being in Blackpool – the fans have been incredible.'
James Wade produced a vintage performance as he swept Matchplay debutant Wessel Nijman aside in an 11-5 win.
There was nothing to separate the two players through the opening six legs but Wade jumped all over the young Dutchman's mistakes as he started to race clear.
The game started to turn when Wade brilliantly hit back-to-back bullseye finishes to go 8-4 up with his third ton-plus finish of the match.
That was in the middle of five straight legs that Wade put together to go within a leg of victory and the Machine pinned double tops to wrap up an impressive win.
Gian van Veen reeled off seven straight legs on his way to a thumping 11-5 victory over Danny Noppert.
Noppert started on fire and jumped 2-0 ahead but his Dutch compatriot shifted into top gear and went into the second break with a 7-3 lead which Noppert could not bounce back from.
Van Veen, who surprisingly knocked out Luke Humphries in the first round, threw four 180s and averaged just under 95 to book his spot in the quarter-finals.
Jonny Clayton continued his good run of form with an 11-8 win over Mike de Decker.
The Ferret threw nine 180s and never went behind in the contest but held off a couple of De Decker fightbacks to see him through safely to the quarter-finals.
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