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In the end, he seemed surprised himself that he hadn't won this match.
Michael van Gerwen left the stage in consternation.
His quarter-finals in the Grand Slam of Darts had gone the full distance of 31 legs.
In the end there was a memorable 15:16 against old master Simon Whitlock.
Once again in this difficult year for number one in the world rankings, not only because of the corona pandemic, he was eliminated prematurely from a major tournament.
And again it was the Australian who took van Gerwen out of the competition.
Even at the World Matchplay, as well as at the World Grand Prix, two of the most important tournaments on the tour, it was not enough against the number 20 in the world.
And yet the recent defeat was not comparable to the bankruptcies in the summer, as Whitlock pointed out: “Beating Michael when he's out of shape is one thing.
But defeating him when he plays well is another matter. "
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After a form crisis that he had not experienced before in his career, van Gerwen seemed to have finally struggled a bit after returning to his old arrows.
The Grand Slam, according to the plan, should end the dry spell, especially since two of his worst competitors had already been eliminated from the tournament in Coventry with Gerwyn Price and World Champion Peter Wright.
But something is missing in the Dutchman's game.
Van Gerwen, who left the only German representative Gabriel Clemens behind in the group stage, has lost his killer instinct.
Against Whitlock he played well and an average above 100, especially due to the long distance. But he skipped the last decisive step.
"Mighty Mike" had the arrow to victory in his hand eight times.
He rejected it eight times.
"I'm a 180 machine": Simon Whitlock set a record
Source: LAWRENCE FUNNY
On the other hand, he had met an opponent who had outgrown himself as the game increased.
“There are no words that could describe how I feel,” laughed the “Wizard” after the game.
Van Gerwen does not bring the lead to the finish
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Van Gerwen had kept him at a distance for a long time and dominated the duel, leading the best-of-31 match with 9: 5 and 12: 9.
When Whitlock equalized for the first time at 13:13, van Gerwen's arrow fell from his hand on stage in shock.
The Dutchman, however, took the lead again with 14:13 and even got the supposedly decisive break at 15:13.
He stood at an average of 102.4 and with 81 points left his first match dart on the bullseye.
When Whitlock then missed 81 points, the decision seemed brought about.
But van Gerwen's attempts on the double 8 and double 4 also failed.
Whitlock cut it to 2:15 p.m.
The Australian opened the 30th leg with a 180, beating Adrian Lewis' seven-year-old tournament record.
It was the 19th time in this game that he got the maximum intake into the board: 19 180s in one match - world class!
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Whitlock played the leg confidently and equalized on the double 10 at 15:15.
The match had to be decided in the 31st round.
Van Gerwen started with a 140 and seemed to have secured an advantage with it.
Whitlock, however, answered in his own way: with the 20th 180.
"It's amazing," says Whitlock
Nevertheless, it was van Gerwen who came into the finish area first.
Another two attempts on the double-4 failed.
And when Whitlock couldn't check either, the number one in the world held her match darts six, seven and eight in hand.
Double-4, double-2 and double-1: all next to it.
Whitlock, however, then converted his second throw on the double-8 to victory, which he owed mainly to his 180s.
“But I also needed all 20. I'm a 180 machine.
Sometimes anyway.
It's incredible.
You can't imagine how happy I am. ”In the semi-finals on Monday evening, which will be broadcast live by streaming service DAZN * from 8:00 pm, he will now meet José de Sousa, who was the first Portuguese to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament.
The third success in a row against van Gerwen was one of his greatest victories, one of the best matches he had ever played, he announced and at the end he had an announcement to everyone who had long written off the man with the Rasta braid and the distinctive goatee had: “My problem is that I'm getting old.
I'm almost 52. But I still have a little life in me. "
The quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts
José de Sousa - Michael Smith 16:15
James Wade - Damon Heta 16:13
Dimitri van den Bergh - Nathan Apinall 16:15
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Simon Whitlock - Michael van Gerwen 16:15
Semifinals
José de Sousa - Simon Whitlock
James Wade - Dimitri van den Bergh
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