BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts – Day 7 Review

Peter Wright and Glen Durrant will meet in the semi-finals of the Boylesports Grand Slam of Darts after the pair defeated Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith respectively in Friday’s quarter-finals.

It will be the first time the two have met since the quarter-finals of the 2017 Grand Slam, when Wright claimed a 16-10 win.

The first match of the evening between Dave Chisnall and Wright began with trading holds of throw with neither looking able to take advantage until the seventh leg when Wright pinned tops for a 65 checkout to break and take the lead.

That advantage didn’t last long though as Chisnall broke back immediately with a 72 finish and levelled the match at 4-4 before going on to hold and then break again to take a 6-4 lead.

Wright returned from the second interval wielding a new set of flights, which didn’t immediately seem to change his fortunes as Chisnall extended his lead to 8-5.

The Scot then kicked in to gear, stringing together a run of eight consecutive legs including a stunning 131 checkout, finishing tops-tops to move 5 clear.

Chisnall then produced a fightback of his own to get within one leg of the former UK Open Champion but despite the defiance and 10 maximums from Chisnall it was Wright who progressed in a 16-12 win.

The second quarter-final of the evening in Wolverhampton saw Durrant reach the semi-finals of a televised PDC event for the third time in 2019 as he beat World Championship runner-up Smith 16-12 to avenge his World Matchplay loss.

Smith began the match the brighter, breaking throw in the second leg only to see his 2-0 lead disappear as Durrant broke back immediately.

It was Smith who was the happier player come leg ten as he took a 6-4 lead in to the advertising break.

The time off stage seemed to benefit the Lakeside Champion though as he reeled off six legs on the spin to give himself a four leg cushion.

Durrant looked solid on throw throughout the match and a run of seven straight holds during a crucial period of the encounter set up the victory.

Durrant missed one match dart in leg 17 but would eventually get over the line in the next leg to secure his place in the last four of the Grand Slam for the first time.

The 48-year-old hit 55% of his attempts at doubles with particular success on double 16 and he explained that practice was the key to his success.

The semi-final line-up will be completed on Saturday night as Michael van Gerwen faces Adrian Lewis after the mouth-watering repeat of the 2018 final as defending Champion Gerwyn Price takes on Gary Anderson.