TOP SEED Michael Van Gerwen survived two match darts against him to sink Joe Cullen in a final leg decider and reach the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship.
The three-time championβs stunning comeback win capped a dramatic day of action at Alexandra Palace after James Wade earlier recorded the first nine-darter at the tournament for five years.
Wadeβs heroics could not stop him sinking to a 4-2 defeat against Stephen Bunting and for long periods it looked like favourite Van Gerwen was also heading out.
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— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 29, 2020
Absolute agony for Joe Cullen who misses two match darts at the bull and Michael van Gerwen wins an instant Ally Pally classic in a deciding leg!
Simply sensational. π€― pic.twitter.com/EpAd2CXK50
Cullen led 3-1 in sets and after Van Gerwen reduced the deficit, the Bradford 31-year-old missed his first match dart at bull in the deciding leg of the sixth set.
The underdog missed his second shot for the match, also at bull, in the fourth leg of the deciding set, and Van Gerwen seized his opportunity to storm back and seal victory.
Van Gerwen told Sky Sports: βHe was playing phenomenal and he put me under pressure loads of times, and I had to do everything in my power to beat him.
βI came back after the 3-1 break still with a lot of confidence, and Iβm really glad I managed to do it. I had to keep up with him and it wasnβt easy.β
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— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 29, 2020
JAMES WADE PINS THE PERFECT LEG IN THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP!
The first nine-darter at Ally Pally for five years!
Incredible scenes π€© pic.twitter.com/mnxq7ftUKi
Wadeβs historic nine-darter came at the start of the fifth set but was met with an understated reaction which underscored an otherwise poor performance from the number seven seed.
Despite dragging himself back from two sets down to level, Wade went on to lose the last two sets and finished with a disappointing average of just 87.94.
Gary Anderson was the last to accomplish the nine-dart feat in January 2016 but Wadeβs was the first in the competitionβs history to take place in an empty venue.
Bunting admitted the lack of fans probably played into his hands, saying: βThatβs probably the sort of situation when youβre happy the fans arenβt here because theyβd have been buzzing all the way through that match.
βHe hit the nine-darter and it was probably a bit of a blur for him and for me. Next thing I gave him a fist pump then it was on to the next leg.
βIf the crowd had been here it would have been noise galore for the rest of the match.β
Krzysztof Ratajski was the first player through to the quarter-finals after a dramatic deciding-leg victory over Germanyβs Gabriel Clemens.
eighth seed Dave Chisnall dropped the first six legs of his match against Dutchman Danny Noppert but recovered to win 4-2 and book his place in the last 16.
