Wade Powers Past Nijman as Quarter-Final Line-Up Begins to Take Shape

Tuesday evening’s action saw the first four Last 16 ties played out at the World Matchplay. Gian van Veen backed up his opening night win over World No.1 and reigning champion Luke Humphries by defeating his World Cup teammate Danny Noppert.

James Wade impressed again with a ton-plus average to dispatch debutant Wessel Nijman. Stephen Bunting edged a scrappy, double-heavy battle with Gary Anderson, while Jonny Clayton delivered a professional performance to see off Mike De Decker.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the evening’s action…

James Wade celebrating victory on the Winter Gardens stage (Photo by: Mark Robinson/PDC)

🇳🇱 Gian van Veen 11 - 5 🇳🇱 (16) Danny Noppert

It was Noppert who made the stronger start, breaking in 15 darts before adding a 14-dart hold to open up a 2–0 lead. But van Veen hit back strongly, holding in 17 darts, breaking in 15, and then landing an 18-dart hold to take a 3–2 lead into the interval, punishing missed darts at double from Noppert in each of the three legs he lost.

‘The Giant’ began to pull clear after the break, producing a clinical 120 finish for a 15-dart break before holding in 14 to move 5–2 ahead. More missed doubles from Noppert, two in leg eight, were punished as van Veen cleaned up 62 last dart in hand to break again, followed by another ruthless 14-dart hold to stretch his lead to 7–2.

Van Veen missed two darts for an 8–2 cushion, and Noppert stopped the rot with a much-needed 17-dart hold on double 10 to trail 7–3.

Returning from the interval, van Veen found a brilliant 12-dart hold for 8–3. Noppert responded impressively with back-to-back 15-darters, including a 112 finish, to close the gap to 8–5.

But that was as close as he got. Van Veen stepped on the gas with a 14-dart break featuring a two-dart 100 checkout, followed by an 18-dart hold, and sealed the deal with another tidy 14-dart leg to complete an 11–5 victory. Noppert had one final dart at bull to extend the contest, but couldn’t convert.

Match Stats:

GvV: 94.94 average | 180s: 4 | 44% on Doubles (11/25)

Noppert: 94.59 average | 180s: 4 | 33.33% on Doubles (5/15)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (9) James Wade 11 - 5 🇳🇱 Wessel Nijman

Nijman opened with a composed 16-dart hold, but Wade quickly stamped his authority with three dominant legs in 11, 16, and 14 darts to surge into a 3–1 lead. The Dutch debutant responded well, landing a tidy 13-dart hold to trail 3–2 at the first interval.

He then capitalised on a rare miss from Wade, breaking in 15 darts to level at 3–3. But ‘The Machine’ immediately hit back with a 15-dart break and a clinical 108 finish to regain the lead. Wade followed up with a superb 12-dart hold featuring a 121 checkout to stretch his advantage to 5–3. Nijman showed spirit by firing in a 121 of his own on the bull to cut the gap to 5–4, but Wade wasn't fazed, responding with a sharp 13-dart hold to take a 6–4 cushion into the next interval.

Nijman had a chance to close the gap after the break but narrowly missed tops for 6–5, and Wade punished with a 15-dart break, finishing 82 on the bull. He then hit a 15-dart hold with a 126 checkout, followed by a 14-dart break, and a composed 18-dart hold to rack up five consecutive legs and move 10–4 ahead. Nijman’s only real opening during that run was a single dart at double top in leg 11.

The Dutchman briefly stopped the rot with a solid 14-dart hold for 10–5, but Wade sealed the match in style with a 13-darter, letting out a roar of celebration. His scoring power, combined with trademark clinical finishing, proved far too much for Nijman, who simply wasn’t afforded enough chances on the outer ring to compete.

Match Stats:

Wade: 102.53 average | 180s: 5 | 64.71% on Doubles (11/17)

Nijman: 94.78 average | 180s: 3 | 71.43% on Doubles (5/7)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (4) Stephen Bunting 12 - 10 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (13) Gary Anderson

Anderson started brightly, breaking in 17 darts and following up with a 14-dart hold for a 2–0 lead. Bunting responded with a 15-dart hold, but Anderson restored the cushion with another tidy 15-darter. A scrappy fifth leg saw both players miss multiple darts at double, with Bunting eventually pinching it in 19 to trail just 3–2 at the interval.

Bunting levelled at 3–3 with a sharp 14-dart break, only for Anderson to instantly reply with a 17-dart break of his own. The next three legs went with throw, giving Anderson a 6–4 lead at the second break, though he was visibly frustrated by missed opportunities on the outer ring.

That theme continued into the final session. Bunting held in 17, then broke in 15 and followed with a 118 checkout for a 15-dart hold to lead 7–6. More missed doubles from Anderson allowed Bunting to break again in 17 and then hold in 14, having narrowly missed double 12 for a nine-darter to move 9–6 in front.

Anderson finally stopped the surge with a 17-dart hold, but Bunting moved to the brink with a 15-dart leg for 10–7. Just when it seemed over, Anderson rallied with back-to-back 13-darters and punished a missed match dart from Bunting to force a tiebreak at 10–10.

Bunting held in 16 to lead 11–10, and when Anderson missed two darts to extend the contest, ‘The Bullet’ found a brilliant 112 checkout to clinch a dramatic 12–10 win and reach the last eight.

Match Stats:

Bunting: 92.71 average | 180s: 8 | 27.91% on Doubles (12/43)

Anderson: 91.70 average | 180s: 7 | 25.64% on Doubles (10/39)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (5) Jonny Clayton 11 - 8 🇧🇪 Mike De Decker

All five legs in the opening session went with throw, with Clayton edging it 3–2 at the interval. De Decker let out a big roar after landing a 108 checkout for 2–2, though he missed chances to break in both legs one and five.

Clayton struck first after the break with a 13-dart break to lead 4–2, but couldn’t capitalise after missing four darts at double in the next leg, allowing De Decker to break back in 16. A scrappy 20-dart hold from the Belgian levelled things at 4–4.

‘The Ferret’ then found double 1 last dart in hand and followed with a laboured 21-dart hold again, helped by De Decker missing a dart for a 130 checkout. Clayton regained full control with a clinical 13-dart break to lead 6–4 at the second interval.

The Welshman kept his foot on the gas with a 17-dart hold and a superb 11-dart break to stretch his advantage to 8–4. De Decker responded with his best spell, a 12-dart break featuring an inventive 130 checkout using two treble 19s, then an 11-dart hold to reduce the gap to 8–6.

Clayton survived a bullseye miss from De Decker for a 129 finish and held with a 52 checkout for 9–6. The Belgian stayed alive with a 13-darter, but Clayton replied with an 18-dart hold for 10–7. De Decker pinched another leg with a 17-dart hold after Clayton missed the bull for the match, but the Welshman sealed it in style, producing a 12-darter with 81 on the bull to close out an entertaining contest and reach the quarter-finals.

Match Stats:

Clayton: 93.41 average | 180s: 9 | 36.67% on Doubles (11/30)

De Decker: 92.62 average | 180s: 5 | 42.11% on Doubles (8/19)