Taylor books semi spot
Phil Taylor, who was at ringside to watch his friend Ricky Hatton defeat Kostya Tszyu last weekend, produced his own masterclass in Bolton this afternoon to book a place in the semi-finals of the Budweiser UK Open.
‘The Power’ fought his way back from 7-1 down to defeat John Part in the previous round, but Mason was unable to apply any pressure and Taylor ran out a comfortable 11-2 winner.
Taylor was quickly out of the blocks against the Wexford-based player, nailing double 10 to open up a three-leg lead.
Mason was unable to respond and successful attempts at double 20 and eight put Taylor in complete control at the interval.
The 12-time world champion was on for a nine-darter in the sixth leg, but his seventh dart landed just above the treble 20 bed and the chance was gone.
However, Taylor was in the zone and he reeled off the next three legs, including a superb 124 checkout, to move 9-0 ahead.
Mason finally gave his fans something to cheer when he nailed double 16 to win his first leg of the match. The next two were shared before Taylor took out double 10 to wrap up victory.
The draw for tonight’s semi-finals was made after the game, with Taylor facing defending champion Roland Scholten, who never looked in any trouble as he eased to an 11-4 victory over Colin Osborne.
Peter Manley booked his place in the last four with an 11-5 win over Alex Roy, who never really got into his stride against the former Desert Classic winner.
“It’s the first time I’m been involved at the Reebok Stadium on a Sunday - it’s usually a day off for me,” joked Manley. “I’m feeling relaxed now. It was quite a stroll for me in the end.”
