World Matchplay: Danny Noppert fights back against Dirk van Duijvenbode as Gerwyn Price beats Jose De Sousa to reach semi-finals | Darts News

Danny Noppert fought back to a 16-11 victory against his World Cup team-mate Dirk van Duijvenbode as Gerwyn Price held on against Jose De Sousa; watch every session at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool – live on Sky Sports

Danny Noppert fought back to a 16-11 victory against his World Cup team-mate Dirk van Duijvenbode to set up a semi-final clash with the new world No 1 Gerwyn Price.

The UK Open Champion withstood some pressure and fought from 8-7 down to take six consecutive legs and get through to his first ever Matchplay semi-final after beating Van Duivenbode in the opening clash of the night.

He will now face Price after the Iceman held on to clinch a 16-14 victory over De Sousa and move to the top of the world rankings.

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Danny Noppert ices his quater-final match with Dirk van Duijvenbode in style with this 121 checkout on the bullseye.

Noppert was his cool and calm self for the opening legs, breaking the first leg and continuing on to take a 3-1 lead, Van Duijvenbode missing 12 chances on the doubles.

However, Van Duijvenbode fought back to an 8-7 lead by taking four legs on the run and seven 180s, a 132 checkout in the third leg only helping him on his way.

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There’s been very little to separate Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode but Noppert is able to take a one-leg lead with this big 150 checkout.

Noppert wasn’t done yet though and found a 150 checkout to claw back to an 11-9 lead at a pivotal moment in the tie.

From then on, it was all the Freeze, winning six consecutive legs before finishing it off with a brilliant 121 checkout to break Van Duijvenbode and claim his place in the semi-final.

Noppert reverted to his calm persona after the match but admitted that it was hard to stay in control whilst facing his friend.

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Danny Noppert could not contain his delight after booking his first ever World Matchplay semi-final slot with a win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.

“It was a really brilliant finish to the match but the 150 gave me more power,” Noppert said.

“He was searching and I was searching and I was searching for my finishes.

“It means everything for me to stay here in the quarter-final and now I am in the semi-final.

“It was not my best game and him as well.

“It was two friends against each other and it is sometimes hard to beat a friend.

“I am here and enjoying my time and speechless.”

Price holds on to clinch thriller against De Sousa

The second quarter-final of the evening got off to a flying start, both Price and De Sousa finding 160 checkouts within the first few legs to get the Winter Gardens crowd going.

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Gerwyn Price nails a superb 160 checkout early in his quarter-final with Jose De Sousa.

Although Price was averaging over 106 and a full 12 points higher than De Sousa, the Portuguese player wasn’t going anywhere and brought the tie back to 5-5 by outdoing the Iceman on the doubles.

After both players held their throws well, there was then a string of breaks of throw with Price coming away with the three-leg lead advantage, working from 7-6 to 9-6 and hitting tops well to claw away at his opponent.

The Iceman then brought up the 10th maximum of the match and followed it with a 177 to increase his advantage, breaking De Sousa one leg later to make it 12-8 and take a four-leg lead.

The “Special One” fought back against Price’s dominance and took five legs in a row to work back from 13-8 behind to make it all level, six more maximums helping spur him on as he hit his stride in the middle legs.

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Gerwyn Price takes advantage of a Jose De Sousa missed 20 checkout to end an absolute thriller and book his spot in the World Matchplay semi-final.

It wasn’t quite enough though for De Sousa and with all in Price’s favour at 15-13, a second attempt at the match dart gave the Welshman the victory.

Although Price couldn’t find the bullseye to take the 128 finish, the Welshman got another chance a leg later and, after a De Sousa miss, took out the D8 to secure his semi-final place and move up to world No 1.

After setting up a semi-final meeting with Noppert, Price was pleased to progress but admitted he was confident throughout that he had the darts in him to win the match.

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Gerwyn Price says he’s where he deserves to be after reclaiming his world number one spot after beating Jose De Sousa in the World Matchplay quarter-final.

“I am not sure about top gear but I played pretty well in that game,” said Price.

“Same as every other game I have let people off and it was a difficult game to come through but I think I deserved that extra shot at the double at the end but I bombed numerous chances.

“I sort of knew he would hit a purple patch and was playing really well but I knew I was still playing well and I just needed to hold my own leg.

“I was just thankful for that last opportunity there because 15-15 you never know.

“The three games the crowd have been fantastic. The first game there was booing when I was coming on but I appreciate all the support.

On topping the world rankings, Price added: “I think it is where I deserve to be.

“I believe I am world No 1, I might not have been for the past few months but on performances like that, I was consistent throughout the whole game.

“I don’t think I was spectacular but I was consistent.

“I don’t know how he held on at the end there, I just like giving drama to the crowd I think.”

Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. You can watch the World Matchplay & Women’s World Matchplay at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool – live on Sky Sports.