Day 7 Darts: World Championships

Good afternoon. The Lakeside is quiet for the first time this week

because we have no afternoon darts. Last night all of these seats were

full and the place was buzzing because we had women's and men's

quarterfinals. The semifinals and the finals at the weekend. This

afternoon, we get to present from the hallowed stage in the company of

Mr broken back Mountain, Bobby George.

Here is what is coming up. Stephen Bunting took his sparkling form into

his quarterfinal last night. He was against Rick Hofstra. Tony Eccles,

in his last year at the Lakeside, faced off against Robbie Green. The

women's number one seed, Deta Hedman, was in action against Irene

Armstrong. We will look ahead at tonight's quarter of finals between

Alan Norris and James Wilson. We have Jan Dekker, who is taking on

Martin Adams. Also, Robbie George Torrence schoolteacher. -- turns

schoolteacher. And we pause to pay tribute to former finalist Phill

Nixon, who passed away recently. 20, Bobby. Another 20. 100. Great

darts from Bobby George. And great darts so far from Stephen Bunting,

the number one seed, who boasted a three figure average going into his

quarterfinal against Rick Hofstra. We now introduce Dutch

international, Rick Hofstra! Double 12, Bobby for the nine dart

finish! Do not take anything for granted in this matter. After won

the first set. It is one like a piece in the second set.

-- one leg apiece. Straightaway, a chance at the start

of this next leg. Very useful indeed. He looks to try and break

back and win this set against the throw.

Bunting has already nicked the darts in this leg.

He has led Rick Hofstra back in there. -- he has allowed.

He does not need asking twice, not in this mood, Rick Hofstra.

I used to the sky. -- eyes to the sky.

Rick Hofstra leaves himself on a finish. That is better! He wanted to

pressurise the Rick Hofstra throw. He has done exactly that.

Stephen Bunting has got an opening. This is for the break back.

At the moment Bunting's checkout percentage is 19. The top seed.

He is giving himself a bit of work to do here, Stephen Bunting. Early

days in the match. The darts leaving the hand with the usual ferocity but

not the usual accuracy. Rick Hofstra's second maximum of this

match. No question, Rick Hofstra is gaining in confidence with every low

score that Stephen Bunting posts. That is six out of six! We have

waited 25 years for a nine dart finish on the Lakeside stage. Will

it be Rick Hofstra? It may be but it will not be right now. Almost the

subject of another trivia question there. That one would have been

easier to recall. 994 Rick Hofstra. -- double nine

four Rick Hofstra. Nine legs of darts, Rick Hofstra has

won six of them and he has won six legs of darts against the number one

seed, with a checkout statistics -- statistic of a mere 30%, and an

average in this game of a mere 86. What he has been able to do is throw

Stephen Bunting of his natural rhythm. Stephen is taking a little

time out with -- to adjust the flights and adjust the focus. I

think if you said to Stephen at the start of the game that he would need

to win five out of seven sets to make it through, he would still have

probably fancied his chances. But of course when you are playing against

an opponent who has run you close before, on three separate occasions

in the recent past, it is bound to play on your mind. Darts players

will tell you that they simply play the board, they do not play the

man. And mostly they are lying to you. It is impossible not to get

caught up in what your opponent is doing. Not to be affected by what

your opponent is doing. And it just seems like Rick Hofstra, just maybe,

has the measure of Stephen Bunting. When he loses to him, he does not

lose by much. And he beats him as often as not.

Stephen will be first to a finish here. We think he has slowed down

since losing the second set. Another missed double four Bunting.

Topps has been a disaster zone first even in this game. He has only hit

it once. -- double tops. That will do him the world of good.

He has missed 17 darts at a double. Double one in that first set, seven

of those for the set. Another three at the business end of the second

set. And another to just then. But he held his nerve to win that leg

with the darts. Crucial for Stephen that he does not fall three behind.

Talk about the problem he has had with double top, he has only headed

once in seven attempts. He is not finding the treble with

his usual regularity. Stephen Bunting looks a little bit rattled

at the moment. Rick Hofstra has won six of the eight legs -- last eight

legs against the number one seed. Invariably fills that up. But he

didn't today. Is that endemic of the fact that he is not on top of his

game? The average is 101 in his last

match. 92 in the matter before that. So far, 86 in this match. Whatever

happens in the remainder of this game, the other players who are

still in the competition will feel that Bunting's air of invincibility,

perhaps, has just taken a little bit of tarnishing. So money guys still

left in the tournament. He is odds-on to win it. I do not think

there is a perhaps about that. I think it is going. That aura of

invincibility is going. He averaged 100 in his second round match for

the first time in the Lakeside stage, having done so all year.

Everybody thought, here we go. He came backstage and told as he did

not play that well. Everyone thought, here is the champion.

Including, I am sure, in their heart of hearts, some of his opponents.

But Rick Hofstra has shown that if you start well against Stephen

Bunting, he does not like playing catch up. Having said all of that,

if Rick Hofstra is favourite to reach the quarterfinals it is not by

much. This is the leg. Stephen Bunting

will be looking to put the pressure on Rick Hofstra. Hofstra has done

well, when he has had the darts he has held on four out of five

occasions. He would expect to win this set anyway because he has the

darts in the potentially deciding fifth leg. But he can increase that

element of doubt in Hofstra's mind. It will be a big psychological

factor. Stephen is taking a lot of water on board, it is ferocious Lee

hot on the stage. 180! The second one went in and followed its target.

I wonder what will of the pointing is about. It seemed significant. --

Earl of the pointing. Three tonnes for Hofstra in this leg

so far. He went for a double 18. A set out

here, I doubt it will have the same significance but you never know. --

dart. Double eight, two darts at it for

the third set. Two mode set hearts hit the dust. -- two.

That is a set back! He is on the board.

We were speaking earlier in the week about the importance of improving

his accuracy around the finish. So far today, as the pressure

intensifies, he has only hit six out of 26. That is not good enough for a

potential winner of this tournament. He would be the first to admit.

Throwing for the set he has hit just one and he has missed ten.

He is nowhere in this leg as well, Stephen Bunting. 55, 33, before that

60. 66 left, double 18 left for him now. Hofstra takes the first leg of

set number four. Funny way to go about 126 but he was not under

pressure. It is the treble 19 that is normally the first target. If you

miss it you have another chance to hit it and then you can take out the

bullseye, but whatever works. Stephen, of course, wasn't on a

finish. The mark of any great champion, how he can deal with

adversity. He is only one set down up to this point. He has got it back

to 2-2, crisis averted. He just does not seem happy in himself out there

at the moment. They will have a break after this set. 180!

If it is 3-1 in a race to five, the top seed will be under the cosh.

Good darts. Excellent darts. Picked off with ultimate ease. Double

eight, then, the Stephen Bunting. Didn't have to think about it.

Getting going now. Game on. But he wasn't under pressure. The doubles

have not come as easy when he is. That was with the throw. The rest of

the set goes with the throw. Bunting must break.

Blood pressure. Hofstra starts with a 59, Bunting weighs in with a

ton-30. -- 40. He will probably take that 98, just

about. He would have liked a second treble 20. And he will definitely

take a 134, leaving him 132 to break the throw. He could be in a bit of

Barney rubble here. He has set himself up beautifully, despite not

getting what he needed. Trouble 18 leaves a bullseye here.

Can he break? Yes, he is going to double seven. He has passed it, he

can't break. -- bust. A moment of contemplation for Rick

Hofstra. 68. This is crucial. Double four, two darts at it. He needs

this, and he gets it. Crisis averted, doesn't let Bunting wake

him. -- break. Good response from Stephen there. It has been a tale of

missed doubles, this match fit him so far. -- for him. He could have

broken in the last, but he didn't. Now he is under pressure just to

hold, to have another go at breaking Hofstra. Both men starting with a

ton-40. You got the feeling as Rick Hofstra

post before approaching the oche at the end of last -- the last leg,

that he was having real fun. He has only ever reached the semifinal of

one major in his career, that was 11 years ago. He deserves this moment.

He is laying the foundations. It does look at the moment as if he is

going to have to hold in the last leg for a 3-1 lead. It looked like

Stephen would win the previous leg and he didn't, and Hofstra can put

that 32 under pressure. Stephen has not been hitting the doubles under

pressure. Again Hofstra makes him great. Bullseye to pile on the

pressure on this double 16. What are you made of, Stephen? There is your

answer! This leg could have a neon sign post about it, saying crucial.

Even then it would understate the case. It is the difference between

two sets each 3-1 to Hofstra. Only 55 from Hofstra, throwing first. He

should win it, he has got the darts. Only 100 from Stephen Bunting as he

tries to take advantage. Where is Hofstra's screwing? -- screwing. --

scoring. This is the difference in experience, Stephen knows what it is

like to finish out tournaments under pressure. Rick does not have the

same weight of experience behind him. That is better, but will it be

good enough? He still needs Stephen to fail. That is a great switch to

19s. He would have wanted more. He is still 60 points or so ahead.

Look at this, when he needs it. 180! Gets the maximum. Down to 65. 223

for Hofstra, good start and response -- starting response from him. 180!

65 for a set against the darts. Ron at double ten. He has missed it!

Calm down, she says. I think Rick Hofstra is the coolest dude at

Lakeside right now. He goes to take a drink of water, composes himself.

He needs double 16 for a 3-1 lead. The dart at double eight. -- the

dart. Pretty good. He has been missing some darts. But Hofstra's

miss at double eight could be crucial. The players leave the stage

after an engaging first session. Absolutely bang dead level.

It was all square at the interval. And it was even Stevens in the

fifth. A vital leg coming up. We will see this one right through to

the end. Stephen with the darts. If anybody

is on a little more pressure, excruciating pressure in this light,

it is Stephen. -- in this leg. He will not want to be broken again.

That will ease some of the pressure. The vice loosened its grip. And the

arm can relax and find a couple of more troubles to move within 140

points of a 3-2 lead in sets from 2-0 down.

He has hit tonne plus in all four visits in this leg. Bunting.

Probably the least important of the set darts he has missed in this

match so far. There have been a few of them.

Stephen Bunting knows he will be back. Hofstra is still way behind.

Not much pressure there from Hofstra. Another chance for

Stephen. He has been practising the troubles. But when it matters he has

really struggled. He takes the lead in sets for the

first time in this quarterfinal. That was only a set with the darts.

But if he was nine to one on at two sets all, it really is worth backing

him from here. However, Hofstra fans will feel that their man is there or

thereabouts. The name of Bunting's son Tobias is

on the tip of his dart. 18 months old. He is not here at this

tournament. Extraordinary that he has missed 19

set darts and he seems to be getting away with it, Bunting.

This is Hofstra's set with the darts. If he holds this set, it is

back to 3-3. He will still be frustrated because he knows he had

an excellent chance to win that fifth set after breaking the Bunting

throw. The first setback after the resumption. -- the first set back.

He still has not checked out more than 80 for all tournament, Stephen

Bunting. -- 84. I think the word is unerring. I am

not sure that was the word that Wilma had on her mind or on her

lips, actually. The Hofstra clan proudly supporting their man. Wilma

keeps telling her man to use his head. Think, think, think. He might

have been better advised, if he thought about it, to stay in the

treble 20. His cover shots are badly let him

down, Hofstra. -- have badly let him down.

The third 140 between the two players to this stage in the leg.

Stephen has the luxury again being able to set this up. -- of being

able. Hofstra is looking at the board at

the moment with an increased sense of incredulity.

This is for a break after five missed darts at doubles for Stephen

Bunting. His finishing is becoming

increasingly wayward now. Does he bite the bullet or does he bite the

dust? This year, Rick Hofstra lost to Ross

Montgomery in Ghent. He was beaten by Robbie Green in the last 32 at

the world Masters. He has to go back to January for a German Gold cup

victory. He is being put under pressure now. Trading maximums.

Bonding with his eighth, Hofstra with his sixth. The tournament with

its 200th. And if you do, all the way from New Zealand and lose your

first round match, having won your preliminary, it is pretty good in

the crowd. There is Mike Day, all the way from

Auckland. He has had fun. Jan Dekker enjoying the fact that the tension

is on other people. He will fancy his chances, Rick

Hofstra, not least because Stephen has not hit anything over 84 all

tournament. There you go, Wilma, he says. That

is what I can do. But there are, says Stephen, that is

what I can do. 9-60 leads in terms of maximums in this game. -- 9-6, he

leads. 97 and 180 in this leg for bonding. -- Bunting.

Stephen Bunting in a position to set things up for himself. 76 remaining.

It is looking as though we will go to another crucial decisive leg in

this set, in which the pressure will be on Rick Hofstra. He really sped

up. Now for the treble 20. Double ten,

then, for the Stephen Bunting. -- for Stephen Bunting. He has missed

40 doubles. Almost half of them set darts. But if Stephen Bunting can

break here he will fancy his chances of romping away. But Hofstra under

pressure started with a ton-40. Still struggling at top, Stephen

Bunting. He has only hit it twice in 14 attempts in this match so far.

Not a single set, really, where Stephen's finishing has been

exceptional. A crucial leg for Hofstra. If he wins it it is 3-3.

Only the one leg separating the two men at the moment. That is mighty

impressive when you are throwing at two sets each. That is pretty good

as well. A finish of 125. Can Bunting claw himself to a finish?

You bet! Pressure on 125, Rick Hofstra.

He just adjusts. He needed the treble for a finish. He has 64 left.

This is Stephen's first big check-out of the tournament and it

is not going to happen so Hofstra has a chance. Two legs each, 64

points each. Hofstra with a first crack at it. 16 and double 16. That

was really wild. Not only did he miss it, he missed it the wrong side

of the double. This is the 4-2. Double eight. Yes! -- this is for

4-2. Surely now the Bullet has fired his way into the semifinals. Game

on. The Bullet is heart and to the Dutchman it looks like things are

pretty black and white. He was 2-0 up, now he is for-2 down. It sounds

like he imploded but that has not been the case at all. Legs, -- legs,

and six have gone to a crucial point. But Bunting has won them all.

Did he change his mind in the middle of the throw? He set up the finish

and he never got the opportunity to close it out. That is crucial

against any player, never mind Stephen Bunting. I wonder if he

aimed at single eight, changed his mind in the middle of the throw,

aimed down towards the big 16, because for these players hitting

that is 99 times out of 100, and just overcompensated under pressure,

decided instead of going eight tops, double 16. Either way, a

moment in this match. Stephen now is already on a finish of 74. -- a big

moment. The first leg of set number seven, there is to go into the

semifinals. He is firing now on all cylinders! Not a vintage performance

but the finishing line is approaching. It is only the third

time he has hit double top all match.

He arrived at the Lakeside saying things are looking bubbly for the

Bullet, having practised his doubles, but back to the practice

board. 16 out of 56, 20 9%. That is not championship winning firm and if

he had a bit of an error about him at the beginning of this final he

has lost it. Even if he does go on to win 5-2. It is easy to build up

an error when he days -- when you do what he did in Hull. He did not drop

a set of the way through. You can do that and then today you are too -0

down against Hofstra. Hofstra is part of a big Dutch contingent which

will be swelled in Cavan -- coming months.

Going back to Stephen's aura, very quick to create and very quick to

dissipate. -- difficult to create. Just ask Manchester United. Double

19, 158! Biggest finish by a street in the Stephen Bunting and it moves

him within a leg of his first ever world championship semifinal.

Magnificent 158 against the Hofstra pro and he is nearly there. --

Hofstra throw. The finishing line very much in focus.

Has Rick Hofstra got any fight left in him, having seen Stephen take out

158 to move a leg are. -- a leg are. It would break the hearts of

lesser men. With six darts, Stephen has got one point fewer than Rick

has with three. Back he comes. Wesley Harms is one for watching the

DVDs and analysing every leg, every set where things went wrong. It is

pretty clear for Rick, only one leg he needs to watch, the last one of

set number my honourable friend. Missed set darts, double 16, double

eight, and instead of being 3-1 up he was 2-2. From that point it very

rapidly went south. He is coming now, he is on his way. Isn't it

extraordinary? A match can turn on two missed darts. Stephen Bunting

has missed 19 set darts, Rick Hofstra has missed just two. This is

for the match. He missed the big 14 there. Well, well. Tops if he comes

back. You have to take 97 out, no two ways about it. This is massive,

treble 18. Somewhere they are, truth be told. This is it, then, the

Stephen Bunting. -- some way away, truth be told. Tops for the Bullet,

he wins 5-2. Hofstra looks stunned, Bunting elated. He makes his first

world championship semifinal. A thrilling victory that was closer

than the scoreline suggests, and the Bullet marches on.

It looks like a whitewash to Stephen Bunting. But it shows as he goes

further he will feel the pressure. He was thinking, Hofstra has not

played very well, he skipped a round. I think he could have walked

it. He thought, this is going to be easy for me, and he almost came

unstuck. It could have been 3-1 down and that would have changed the

game. He was struggling. The darts were not going in. He had a break,

came out, and did the same again, couldn't get a double, and Rick

started coming back to him. He was lucky, to be honest. I don't think

he played very good darts, compared to what he has done. But he is

happy, he is in the semifinal. He will be against Tony Eccles Robbie

Green. We will not tell you because we are going to show you the

highlights. Every Friday afternoon the man would be biggest darts brain

in the world imparts some of his insight. It is usually the training,

how young players should learn. What you should learn is, wherever your

first dart goes, follow it with the other two. Throw the dart and in

your mind through the same. You are learning to group your darts. Let's

talk about gamesmanship. We run the Lakeside stage for the first time

presenting together so I get a feel of how intimate it is. In the

commentary, you hear about mind games. We never get the feel of what

that is like. Talk about slow play. If a guy is fast, you can slow him

up. Give me an extreme example. This will be 26, bed and breakfast. I

just want to point something out to everybody watching. The distance

between the oche and the edge of the stage is just this. It looks much

bigger on TV. When you see the players standing behind, you could

literally touch them on the shoulder. It is very intimate. I

will be the fast player. You have just lost four sets in a row and you

are getting desperate. He is playing well, a big 39, I am happy. You come

off and I think, let him wait. I am in no rush. It puts you off. Another

five there, that is no good. It has taken you 15 seconds to throw them.

I have not really finished yet. Now it is your turn. I am also

acknowledging your game, you are supposed to play the board. Look at

that, I got the loose dart because of that. Slowing you up puts you out

of your rhythm. What about the walk? One player in particular does

this. Can you mess up the eyeline of the player on top? Live television,

isn't it marvellous? ! I have to completely reset myself. Yes, you

have two set yourself. -- to. I will do an impression and you tell me if

you know who it is. Let's guess who this is.

Yes, I like the stance. Ted Hankey! Brilliant. We have dealt

with how you can slow play when you are at the oche. It is not illegal

but it is gamesmanship. I have already demonstrated how close you

are to the player. What can you do from behind the player when you are

not throwing, that could put them off? You are the darts player and

you are going to go and throw. I will stand behind you. That is

awful. What are you doing. You just take your darts. I would want to

turn around and throw it this way. You can flick your flights. It does

put you off. They do actually do that. And some players here have

done it. But they are masters at it. You cannot really see them do it.

When I am watching, I can see them slowing him up. There is no rule to

say you cannot do it. Surely you get used to it? Take someone like Martin

Adams, 21 years here, he is never going to fall for that? No. The only

thing that you hear... There is noise all the time. When you are up

here, it is nice and quiet. A player requires 32. As he is going for the

double, some idiot shouts out, Miss! We will try that. I would be the

idiot. I have only got two darts. Ready?

Idiot! It does work. It does work, yet! , on, John Lowell! That is a

bit crude. When players try mind games, it is the ultimate compliment

because it means you are on top as a player? Exactly. The idea of this

game is to beat your opponent. There is nothing in the rule book that

says you cannot do it. That the problem. They don't all do it. But

it does happen. They have had trouble getting here. Through the

play-offs or whatever. The first thing was you shouting out to me.

You called me an idiot. Excellent. It is not just throwing darts at the

board. There are other things going on. It is so much smaller here than

you see on the television. Most of the crowd are on top of you. It

gives you an idea of the cauldron and some of the mind games. It may

have taken place last night between Tony Eccles and Robbie Green. That

is coming later. Let's look at tonight 's quarterfinals. The first

one features Jan Dekker. He needs to find his top gear against Martin

Adams, who is finally playing close to what we would expect. The other

quarterfinal is between James Wilson and Alan Norris. James Wilson made

his debut last year and he has been throwing really well ever since.

Alan Norris has the bit between his teeth and I think he has the darts

to make it all the way through to at least the semifinal. That one,

Bobby, I would not want to miss. I cannot call it. Norris has got a lot

of passion. That is what I like to see in a player. He is playing well

and he is really enjoying himself. I think Wilson may have a tough game

on his hands. I think that would be one of the best games of this

tournament. Really looking forward to that. In the other case, and I

don't mean to keep saying it, I love the kid, he is wonderful, he has got

a great smile and a wonderful family with him, but Jan Dekker needs to

find something else. Of all the players in the quarterfinals, he is

lucky to be there? Lucky. He has taken his chances. 86 is not

championship darts. He is playing a guy who has done it and won the trip

-- T-shirt three times. 21 times on this stage. One thing I will say

about Martin, it is finishing. If they miss, he is going out. That is

why he is going to get into the semifinals. That is the difference.

He gets decent starts. He hits 100 averages. In his first nine Nazi is

probably just under 90 all the way through. -- in his first nine darts

he is probably just under 90. We have seen players who start slow, in

many tournaments before, they crash out in the quarterfinals. One of the

most famous finals was Phil Nixon losing the first six sets and then

coming back. That is on everybody's minds. We lost Phil Nixon this year.

There have been quite a few tributes paid this week. He was a lovely guy.

To be 6-0 down. I thought that was over. Phil got the double. He got

another one. Then we sat down again. That is what we done. He came back

to 6-6 and lost the last one. I have never seen that in darts before.

That was unbelievable darts, to have that much bottle to be 6-0 down. He

played his game like he was just starting. It took in 20 years to

reach the Lakeside. It was his dream. He was the ultimate underdog.

He won the hearts and minds of the fans and he continued to do so until

he passed away recently. His wife has been talking to the BBC.

It was his lifetime ambition. It is what he played darts for. The night

before we set off, we were in our local pub. One of the local

businessmen set to fill the night before, what do you think you will

do when you go down there? And Phil turned around and said that he was

not going to lose. He had waited that long. He rolled with everything

that happened that week. The rest of us were falling to bits. He just got

on and did what he had to do. It is very surreal. You feel very shot

off. -- closed off. It is hard to explain. You go through so many

emotions. You are scared, you are proud. In my case, you want to be

sick! So proud. When the break came, I was in two

minds as to whether to come down into the player room. My friend

asked me if I went down yesterday. I said yes, but he was not 6-0 down

yesterday! I came down and he was throwing darts quite furiously as

the board. I stood behind him and he said something I cannot say! It was

not very polite. He finished his drink, you had a cigarette and he

just absolutely... He went and walked up the stairs and it was a

good two or three minutes before it was time to come back out. The

marshals were telling him it was too early. He wanted to go. He was

ready. They told me couldn't. He stood at the top of the stairs. We

were all just looking at him. The marshal at the time, Mike, he asked

me what the matter was. I told him he was in a bit of a mood. He asked

me what I thought would happen. I've said to him that he might just

played darts night. There it is! Look at this! You would

have thought he had won the title! When he won the first set, we were

just so happy that he won one set. The worst thing I could think of was

that they would get beaten 7-0. Nobody will remember all of the

other games. It would have just been the final that would get spoken

about. The more he kept winning, it was not just us, it was the whole

room. Grown men were picking me up and throwing me around. You could

feel the whole room. Set by set went and we were all thinking, he cannot

do this. When it went to six apiece. It was just madness.

Can you believe it? 6-0 down at the interval. And the scoreline noun --

now is 6-6. Even though he lost the last set

3-0, he might as well have won it. The fan merely got was insane. He

won local hero in the north-east. He might as well have won it. He did

win it in my eyes anyway just by getting there.

The thing with a great final like that is no one ever talks all these

years -- years later about the averages, they talk about a player

who spent two decades trying to get here. Let's not forget Martin Adams

as well. He had been here so many times at that stage and he could not

win a title. He always bottled it. And here he was again. People

thought it was the ultimate capitulation. I thought he was going

to do it again. He always had hard games. He always seemed to make it

hard for himself. He had a chance to win. He ran out of petrol. I thought

he was going to get a puncture. I never, ever seen anyone come back

from 6-0 down. In this sort of tournament. And the way that Martin

was playing. It went to the last set. All right, he beat him in the

last set but it was unbelievable. It all happened right here. The set

changes, dartboards change, but the walls don't. The seats, I think, are

still the same. It all happened in this room. It doesn't matter what

memory you are pulling out. Every person that has played darts and got

to do it for a living, this is the one they want to win. This is the

one they start out. They have at least passed through this oche. What

was this room like at 6-6? Unbelievable. When Nixon hit a

double, people were going mad. They wanted it. I thought he was going to

win. He deserved to win. To come back from 6-0 down, really. If he

had won it, it probably would have been the best game of darts ever. It

is a the you never expect from any player. The pressure must have been

tremendous. He must've thought he had nothing to lose, was losing

anyway. He threw his darts like he normally did. This week has not just

been about the darts we are watching, but honouring the memory

of Phil Dixon, who we lost recently to cancer. Let's go back to the

darts last night. Let's concentrate on the ladies. The top half will

actually play tonight. Fallon Sherrock has Anastasia

Dobromyslova to content with. The lady who has won it the last three

times in a row is not really in a row is not fully informed. The same

could be said about tonight's other quarterfinal. We have debutants

Tamara Schuur, who knocked out Trina Gulliver, and she faces last year's

runner-up, Lisa Ashton. We already know the first ladies' semi.

Ann-Louise Peters getting her inaugural taste of world

championships victory. She is playing Julie Gore, who has never

won out of seven times of asking. We will pick this one up at the start.

This is Ann-Louise's first year at Lakeland. She faces perhaps the

success story of the week so far. Julie Gore has been coming here

every year since 2008 and finally, finally, at the seventh attempt,

managed to win a match on the big stage. With the draw expanded there

was a familiar challenge facing Julie. Let's see if she can reach

the semifinals for the first time. Both brilliant players. Like you

said, Ann-Louise, qualifier, and has had a break from darts for a while

and decided to come back. She has qualified, so fair play to her.

Julie has been around for a long time, like you said, and is a

brilliant player. She has not showed that on this stage as yet but

speaking to her an hour ago she said she feels, rather like Dave Prins,

she can relax now that she has won a game. She can do this. Welsh

international, coming up to 50 caps for Wales. Well-respected person on

the circuit. Kicked off the quarterfinal with a ton-20. She has

a chance now to put a bit of pressure on Ann-Louise, who has the

darts in this opening leg. What do you make of her darts and her

flights in particular? You don't see too many of those around. Julie? She

has her own technique. Every dart player has her own technique, and

the flights... Not a lot of people use those sort of flights but it

obviously works for her so go with it.

I wonder how much difference the darts themselves to make. Treble

14, and what a start! A 124 check-out, if you please! She has

got straight in there, hasn't she? So how much different to the darts

make? If I gave you Julie's darts, surely you'd still stick them in the

treble 20. It is all personal preference. Not everything macro

will suit every person. -- not every dart will suit. It is the same as

how people hold the dart, personal preference.

Ann-Louise has two children, which is why she gave up darts for a

while. Andreas and Christian. They are ten and four.

A couple in, I would going to see a maximum? -- are we going.

Six from 122 if she needs them. She took out a 131 in her first-round

match. Treble would have left the bullseye, but she strayed into the

wrong treble. 92 left. Treble 12 four double 18. No, she is

staying on the 20s. When therefore a double 16 to level the set. -- when

there are -- one more for a double 16.

22. -- double two. Two eights to increase the lead.

She means business, doesn't she? She has had two darts at the double and

hit them both. Julie had four to level the set and she missed them

all. That is why it is Ann-Louise on the brink of a 1-set lead. This is

the trouble, as you found on Saturday lunchtime, Trina, and it is

why your success is so extraordinary. In the women's

format, best of three sets, it is so difficult if you start slowly to

turn it around. It is a short and not and it is incredibly hard. -- a

short format. You have to go off straightaway and have good form and

it is hard to do. 60 points on the floor, first bounce, out of the

match. -- first bounce-out. Another one on the floor.

Julie was actually in the Army. She was in the veteran early -- veteran

Terry -- in the vets' division. And then she was a bouncer, believe it

or not. No, actually, I believe it! Probably a little bit less glitter

in her hair if she was stopping people getting into a nightclub. I

would say some, yes. -- say so. She has just gone off the boil in this

leg. She needs, you feel, a couple of trebles to leave herself on a

finish. Treble 20? Stay there. She will be

back with Julie on 175. If you are new to darts, perhaps you will not

know that 170 is the biggest number that can be checked out with three

darts. There are not very many but some

numbers below 170 that you can't check out with three darts, and 162

is one of those OD numbers. -- one of those numbers. Double ten, then.

Five missed doubles from Ann-Louise, or for the set. Treble

17 and bull. She pauses, checks. You don't want

to get it wrong up there. They call this the madhouse. No score.

20 leaves tops. Double one. So it has to be a single 18. Ann-Louise

would probably give you good money for one of those double ones. She

has missed eight for this set. Nine. There it is.

First blood to Ann-Louise Peters and she is one leg away from victory as

we rejoin it. In the same way as it is difficult

to come back from a slow start in this short format, a 124 shot in the

first leg can give you momentum to the finishing line. Of course. It is

a big stage up there, and massive audience, and a big atmosphere, and

it is hard to cope with at times, and if you can do that under

pressure it will give you confidence.

What is your biggest out shot? At the Lakeside I mean. I can't

remember. My favourite is 114, for personal reasons. I was just about

to ask you why and you held up your hand and said, personal! Unless you

want to share them. It is a friend of mine at that point in time who

was poorly and I actually said, this is the Julia. And I took it out.

Fantastic and a great story. Was that in the final? Yes it was. It

was for the match. Even better. Hello. She is playing very well. If

she hadn't strayed there, she would be on the finish. And Louise on the

finish. Julie is going to hit something really big now to put the

pressure on. She does not want to lose 3-0. She needs to hit that

treble. Six starts for a place in the semifinal. Come on. Apply some

pressure. Bit of pressure on there. And Louise, for the match. He looks

nervous but at the moment he does not have any reason to be. But what

can Julie Ward do with this? -- Julie Gore. Yes! First leg to Julie

Gore. And Louise to first. Game on. Now from billing on the brink of the

match, she has two darts for it. Well she think about that? Difficult

to get it out of your head. She might. I have seen her comeback from

this sort of situation before. She is quite remarkable but let's see if

and Louise can keep cool. -- Ann Louise. She was slightly shaky

starting the leg. That last part was important. Julie has managed six so

far. She is struggling. This is not the Julie Gore that I know. What it

time for that score in the match. She is punishing everything. 220

ahead. She seems almost to be at her best. If you loose darts. -- if you.

She has left double four. She cant leave herself a finish now. Ann

Louise steps up to the ochie under no pressure whatsoever for her first

semifinal. Finishing fever. Julie will take time and make sure she

leaves herself with a finish, any finish. Now she will. And having

taken that out, the pressure on Ann Louise is even greater. She missed

the treble 19. That is a great dart. The pressure is on. She needs to do

this now. This is the dream of her father to be here and win it. She

has missed ten match darts. This is to level the second set at two legs

all. Can she do it? Game, shot and the match, Ann-Louise Peters. She

gets over the line on her lakeside debut. She has reached the

semifinals. Julie Gore will look back on this championship with some

satisfaction after six years of trying she won a match. It was not

to be today and it is Denmark going through to the semifinal.

The ice cube had melted. Joining Ann-Louise Peters is the number one

seed Deta Hedman. Or alternatively Irina Armstrong. It took the first

set and we will turn it at one late each in the second. -- and we will

join it. She knows she has to break this

through. She has two chances to do it. A decent start for detail. --

for Deta Hedman. Look at this. This is better. She will try and stretch

the gap. 180. Her first maximum return and. That was crucially

timed. -- her first maximum of the competition. Whoever wins this match

will have a day off on Friday. They will play a semifinal on Saturday

lunchtime and the final on Saturday evening between the two men's

semifinals. 20 leagues top is. Arena cannot finish. -- Irina Armstrong. A

shot at tops for a third team doctor. No problem at all. She moves

with then one leg of the semifinals. Only 57 from Irina Armstrong. Deta

Hedman seems in the mood to -- punished that. She relished that

third start. -- she rushed. He is pleased with his lady who is not bad

far away now. -- not that. He was very relaxed. She went for the

bull's-eye. Her scoring has let her down and she will be disappointed

with her averages. She must win this to stay in the match. She needs both

of these. The second was an excellent start. She knew she had to

hold that. This is the chance that she must take. Back in the treble 20

with her first dart. This time she has followed it in. She looks

disgusted with that third dart. Still over 100 points ahead. That

was unlucky. When you are playing against Deta Hedman you cannot

afford to have five darts falling on the floor. That is worth 200 points.

Not much in this leg but crucially it is Deta Hedman with those darts.

That was a good last dart. Irina Armstrong has not left a finish.

Deta Hedman playing for a place in the semifinals. She is one dart

away. Double top. That is a good marker. Just rolling it in. Double

ten Deta Hedman. Game, shot and the match Deta Hedman. A straight sets

victory for Deta Hedman. She has seen off a Irina Armstrong. She

makes her way through to the semifinal, the dream of a first

world title in 20 14 is still very much alive for her. We will sort out

the other half of the draw this evening.

Talk about overwhelming favourite, Anastasia, you are the standout

candidate for another women's title. Are you comfortable being the

marked woman? To be honest, I try not to think about it. I am

preparing very hard and I hope I will do my best here, that is about

it. What would it mean to secure a hat-trick three in a row here? Every

win is good, but the World Championship is always special. What

are your reflections on the match against Karin Krappen? It was not

the best game for me or Karin. I do not know what happened. Maybe it was

because it was the evening, maybe we had not played each other for a

while. I don't know. No excuse! It has been a bit of a wait. How

difficult has that been? Do you lose rhythm because you have not played

for a few days? I just tried to practice, go to the gym, go for a

war, and not think about the games. I am just trying to focus. Speaking

of your next game, 19-year-old Fallon Sherrock. She is so young and

just at the beginning of her journey. It is such a massive

occasion for her to play you. She is so young and so good. I have later

-- played her a couple of times and I need to play well. Could it be

tight? Hope no! Good luck! Little Richard Ashdown, our new MC,

joins us on the stage. You get closer to the action. Your lakeside

story goes back almost as far as Martin Adams? It does. It was 1994

it that I first came here. I was in the front row. It was the wrote that

Bobby got to the final. He had a back injury. I saw him before the

back injury. I was 15. You would have been what, four feet? And now

you are all grown up. And now you were doing the calling. I went up to

the commentary box to do the spotting, we call it. I know all of

the numbers and the checkouts. The cameramen need help and need to know

where the players are going to throw, so Bobby recommended me for

spotting. That was a good shout. The best in the business! He has studied

it since he was a little boy. His hobby was to get the videos of the

darts players. I knew that he could do the job. You have got to know the

guys that you are spotting for. Some people go a different way. He knew

the people and where they went. That was his job. What was it like this

year to step on the stage in the place you have been in for all those

years, nerve wracking? Bobby got me refereeing on the exhibition set. I

have lots of experience in clubs and pubs. I have done TV events before.

The history and what this stage means in darts is huge for little

me. I am trying to think back to Saturday. The first game that you

introduced would have been a nine time champion getting knocked out.

Trina Gulliver was knocked out before we came on air, so that was

your first experience. And then we went live on BBC One. I was going to

referee the first game. And then the player had the number four and the

number four was missing! We had to change the number rang after the

first set. Darts players are superstitious. They might think,

hold on, he is up on the stage, a woman has been knocked out, the

reigning men's champion has been knocked out, they might want read a

few! -- want read of you. Any mistakes yet? You rehearse it over

and over in your head. I say the walk on 20 times before I'd actually

goes. -- it actually goes. What is your favourite? You record on camera

last night, dancing on the oche when you did not know you were in shock.

I have no idea! It is the big players that can really crank it

up, Stephen Bunting, Deta Hedman, they have been good fun to bring in.

We even had the opportunity at the weekend for a crowd warmer, to bring

in Bobby. That meant a lot to me. I brought Bobby onstage 20 years after

I first saw him. He got you your job. Last time I met him I went to

Brecon in Wales with him and did a show. I had to introduce him! I

said, he is a virgin MC, he has never done this before. They all

cheered. After two or three exhibitions he started talking. He

is very good at his job. Big weekend for you. You are going to get to

call two competitors on. We have only shown Stephen Bunting going

through. Now we will see Tony Eccles, who says this is his last

Lakeside. He was taking on Robbie Green. We are going to keep you in

and not cut you out of this! It is the 2014 Lakeside World

Championships. We introduce the holder of nine ranking titles in his

career. He is the reigning British classic champion, Tony Eccles !

We now introduce a former world Masters finalist, the 2012 Belgian

open champion, the number four seed, Robbie Green!

Let's get straight you the action. They spent the first-born eggs and

this is to the first set. -- they split the first four legs.

It just means that any slight individual error or a missed double

early in the game, it is not as significant as it would be earlier

in the tournament. Later in the game, it could still be supremely

significant. What is happening with Robbie's scoring in the last leg?

Just one score of 100 plus. That was in his last five visits. But at the

moment, Tony is not taking advantaged. Two legs all and just a

point in it. This is better. Much greater

accuracy. Look at that for grouping! 180! He has The

headlines... His first maximum are just the right time in this decisive

leg of the first set. You could have fit and other doesn't darts in the

treble 20. It has left him 83 points away from the set. Now, just 32. How

about that? Hitting the accelerator just when he needed to. Power to the

first set. Here we go in the second. Wonderful outshot. He missed three

darts at double 16 earlier in the set but this time, inch perfect.

Ton 40, ton 40, to start the set from Robbie Green.

Treble would leave double eight. Double 12, he has left. Double six,

all the way across at three o'clock. Not quite. And how significant will

that prove as Robbie approaches the board? And he aims at double top

against the darts. He takes the leg. And a little bit of daylight.

As we saw yesterday, you never write Tony Eccles off.

Lisa Ashton is here. Per day 's work is done. She has the opportunity to

put her feet up and enjoy Tony Eccles against Robbie Green.

We all enjoyed Lisa's match against Aileen de Graaf. That was a cracking

encounter earlier today as this is shaping up to be. 180. That treble

20 already looking like the baseline at Wimbledon. He has found his

rhythm. His average is going up and up. What a start this is. He is

looking to find out what he has hit. That leaves artichoke gate. --

artichoke gate. No problem. He is at his imperious best. A little bit of

scoring trouble early in the game and double trouble early in the

third leg of the first set. He overcame that. Now he has hit his

stride. Straight back in again. He has broken the crew once already in

this set. That is a great start. He currently has the biggest cheque out

of the turn and. -- the competition. 64 but Tony Eccles. Treble 16 and

artichoke gate. This is a set point for a two set lead. He needs tops.

Robbery to throw first. Game on. -- Robbie.

A lot of embroidery and Robbie Green's shirt. 180! That is his

third maximum. He has the names of his children on his sleep. But

closest to his heart is Liverpool football club. He is playing in his

away kit tonight. That is very much part of his uniform. Brilliant,

absolutely brilliant. He has another look at 170. Another treble 19. Not

far away. But this is set point. Second set to Robbie Green. Green is

the colour at Lakeside at the moment. He leads 2-0. Third set,

first leg. Robbie Green to throw first. Game on. As he stands behind

him, he would be thinking I had a chance to break back. I gave myself

a chance but it was not to be. Robbie Green has an average of over

95, his best of the competition. His chequered statistics are better in

this game up to this point than in either of his previous matches where

they were fairly tidy as well! Very little letup from Robbie Green. 180!

He has had a ten died leg already this week. What about an 11 dart

leg. Nose is in front. An 11 dart finish always sends out a message to

the competition. Quite apart from anything else, the players will want

to win this match because there is a big jump in prize money between the

quarterfinals and semifinals. ?15,000 at least the man who wins.

In this order form, Robbie Green is practically unplayable. He is like

Luis Suarez. He is finding the treble is when he needs to find

them. He has ?5,000 theoretically at the moment. Robbie Green was a

fraction away from 170. He might not win this leg. That would have been a

12 dart finish. That is imperious. Third leg. Robbie Green to throw

first. Game on. He leaves on the way. 180. He gets another maximum

and this will take some stopping. In this sort of mood it is a rare dart

that this is its target from Robbie Green. That is about as bad as it

gets. That took his average below 100. Stephen Bunting had a match on

the Lakeside stage this year for he averaged three figures. Robbie Green

is growing -- going the right way about emulating that. He is

averaging 99 after a terrible first set. Look at that! Tony Eccles has

done virtually nothing wrong in this set. Here we go. He is in poor

position unless Robbie Green can check at 143. Tony Eccles against

the darts. Fourth leg, Tony Eccles to throw first. Game on. In that

match against Wesley Harms, Tony Eccles came back. He must win each

of the next few legs to stop himself from going down. A terrific standard

in this match. The eyes of the crowd were staring at the board and

looking at the players. The big screens dotted around the arena.

180! He likes sixteens. It might be a teensy year. Game, shot and the

fourth leg. This gives us a deciding leg. This is the difference between

being 3-0 down or 2-1 down. What a set this is. Robbie Green took two

legs with 11 darts and then 14 darts. Tony Eccles has bounced back

with a 14 dart finish leg of his own. Superb playing from both

competitors. This is a typical quarterfinal match. That was really

unlucky. This is a massive time in the match. You must pay testament to

the quality of both of these players. Both have previous

quarterfinal experience. Both have played one match and lost one match

at this stage in the Lakeside tournament. Robbie, very much in the

driving seat to take a 3-0 lead. It leaves him double 12 and 813 charter

when he comes back in a moment. This is extraordinary. You will rarely

see a better set of darts. What a way to win it! 11 darts, 14 darts,

14 darts, 11 darts, 13 darts. What it means is Robbie Green is two sets

away from the semifinals, and Tony Eccles is three down with a maximum

of seven to play. Six to play, excuse me. The finishing in that set

was perfect. All five legs were won with the first double. Robbie Green

has won nine legs with 15 darts or less. The checkout starts so why he

has been so effective, nine out of 14 is brilliant. -- the checkout

statistics show. He has shown character and

resilience in abundance in the match against Harms. This has been a good

start to a crucial fourth set for Tony Eccles. It does not look as

though it is going to be punished, with Robbie away back on 337. There

is a break after this set. It goes without saying it is a set that Tony

Eccles must win. He has not found a ton plus in this

leg. Robbie Green, double four for Tony Eccles. Six legs in a row, one

without missing a double. Again came a magnificent response. 129 from

Robbie Green. His only victory against Tony was in the

quarterfinals of the England National Championships in 2012. The

other two meetings have ended up in Eccles victories. There was a

whitewash in August. Tony came out on top in the final of the 20 12th

Scottish Open. -- 2012 Scottish Open.

Good switch down to bull's-eye. If he had hit the half bull he would

have been able to finish but that cannot be done.

Very frustrating with that first dark. It looked for a moment as

though there was a chance that Tony might be able to get it back against

the darts. 61 from Robbie Green. 34 double four after heading the bull.

He has not hit the double four. That is what a double miss feels like.

Double 16 for a two leg lead. One missed double in seven legs. 104

checkout. Not bad finishing, is it? Not bad scoring, either.

Significantly, a leg against the darts. Still, the finishing is

mightily impressive. And the scoring is not bad either. 180! Nine between

them in the match, Robbie Green with the lion's share. Can he follow them

in? Can he follow them in? Quite. Scoring this high, there is a bit of

a frisson through the crowd. Are they going to witness history? If a

nine dart finish is going to happen, this feels like the sort of

match where it could. Absolutely. Both men on 130. Who will be the

first to take it out? This is for the set. Went for the bull. Robbie

Green with the same shot, 130. 55... -- double five, great

finishing from Robbie Green. It is a long time we have -- since

we have seen a score as low as 43 from Robbie. He has won a sizeable

tournament this year and reached the semifinal of the World Masters, and

reached the final of the World Open and Antwerp Open. This is a man you

cannot write off, Tony Eccles. Tony has four out of the ten

maximums. Robbie will want to apply some

pressure. The only way to do that... Very unlucky. Tony will

consider pressure applied. 24 tops, for the set. 20 four tops.

Double top... He has got it. And the two players leave the stage with

Tony Eccles still in the hunt. The five-minute break has not done

Robbie Green any harm. That is his 100th three figure score in the

tournament. 36 of them were in this game. 100 three figure scores in 12

cents one set of darts. Not bad, is it? -- in 12 sets. It is a ton of

tonnes. He may be fourth seed but he did not

win a tournament in the last 12 months. He was runner-up in Wales

and Antwerp. Tony Eccles did when the British Classic. Apart from

that, he only went beyond the last 16 wants. -- wants.

He beat Robbie on his way to winning the British Classic. Getting drawn

against Robbie Green brings the best out in Tony Eccles. There is a light

box down there and if you are not careful, you can burn your hands.

You should leave it to the referee. Can Tony pressure for 150? Tony

Green has just popped his head around the corner of the commentary

box. If he was on the mike at this stage he would say it is a big

finish, but he is a big man. He set himself up beautifully.

Again, a grimace from Tony Eccles. To take the first leg of set number

five, double eight. Matches like this are why we come to

the darts. Big difference between the two men in set score, but look

at the first nine act dash next to no difference between the two men.

Through the first ten darts, the scoring has been nearly identical

but it is the checkout where Green has been sensational.

That is the only treble Robbie has hit so far this leg.

Robbie Green is still not on a finish. This for a 15. Leg. Robbie

back at 198. He has struggled to get consistent scoring. He

overcompensated with the second start. The second leg Tony Eccles.

The third leg, Tony to throw first. That is the ninth leg that he has

one, Tony Eccles. He is 3-1 ahead in sets. He took the crucial deciding

leg in the third set and are we going to see another maximum? What a

set that was, that third set. Absolutely critical. 180! They keep

on coming. That is the 12th of the match so far. If you are just

joining us, but had said was made up of five legs and none of them went

beyond 14 darts. -- that third set. Robbie is looking at 117. That was

in and out. That nearly hit us in the commentary box! I must confess,

I flinched when that came back out of the board. Robbie Green, for a

leg advantage in set number five. He missed that. He is frustrated. A

chance for Tony Green. -- Tony Eccles. That could have been the

foundation to get him back. Yellow red Robbie Green is now one leg away

from taking a 4-1 lead. You can never really tell but that's good

did. -- that Scolari did feel big. It could be a turning point. Robbie

was so far ahead in that leg and he had some bad luck and he displayed

some carelessness. All of a sudden, Tony Eccles was looking to steal the

leg against the darts. If he had taken it, my goodness, but he

didn't. Those are the times in the competition friend you field the

opportunities are crucial. -- when you feel. That was one of those

times and Tony missed it. 180. His ninth of the match. The 165 was

perfect. That was just a bit too high. Robbie Green following that

with the perfect maximum. He will stay there now. He needs the

poolside. What a way to do it! That Hirst said those two Robbie Green!

What a finish. Is there any coming back from that? -- the first set to

Robbie Green. The most remarkable thing about Tony Eccles playing

against Wesley Harms was the context of the checkout and that is another

big one for Robbie Green. 125. It was done in fantastic fashion. He

took the set. Never a man that betrays his emotions but even he had

a self-satisfied nod about the way he finished that. 180! Still the

scoring is so impressive and he is into double figures. Tony Eccles

cannot quite find his rhythm. Ruth cannot cope. Treble 17 and the

bull's-eye. Surely not? Treble 18. That leaves the poolside. -- that

leaves the bull's-eye. This is darts from a different planet! Lobby to

throw first. Game on. -- Robbie to throw first. We will be winding this

back in a few minutes time just to make sure we have seen it correctly.

Robbie has never reached the semifinal but this performance is

definitely worthy of a place at the top table. It has been magnificent.

67% finishing, an average score of nearly 96. Absolutely magnificent.

How big does that missed shot earlier from Tony Eccles feel now?

Treble 17. Bull's-eye! So close. We just expected him to hit it. That

would have been a third successive leg for he took it with poolside. --

with the bull's-eye. That felt a little bit rushed. Just a little

bit. Can he take this? The finishing line is getting closer and the

doubles are getting smaller. The second leg Tony Eccles. Bird leg it

is Tony Eccles to throw first. Game on. -- bird leg. 180. He was runners

up in the Masters championship in 2009. 180. This is just fantastic.

180. Robbie Green has the chance of dieting information when he returns

to the ochie. -- doubts greatness. Some people cannot watch. It felt

like he was going to do it. This place was bouncing, absolutely

bouncing. They are willing him on, this crowd. He does not want to lose

this leg having missed darts and a double to take the lead in the set.

And there is some pressure from Tony Eccles and he is a wonderful

fighter. He has missed more darts. There is the 17. Surely he will not

miss? Robbie has another chance. It is all right, Ruth. It is just a

game of darts! He has the chance to move one leg away. He has missed

again! Tony Eccles looking at this. 14 missed darts. The chance to move

one leg away from the semifinals. He was playing so well. This is what

pressure those two great players. Finally. Having finished so well

throughout the match, he starts to wobble. Game on. Now he is in the

position to take the match. That final, in the Masters in 2009, he

missed a dart for the win against Martin Adams and he lost. Tony

Eccles is showing his resilience and he needs even more now. He must win

the next two legs to stay alive. Remember, he said he was going to

retire after this competition and this could be the last leg of his

professional career. Lynn cannot to watch this. I wonder what is on that

phone. It is always harder when you cannot do anything about it. It is

not over yet. Tony has got the darts back, just about. Twice in a row he

had the treble 19 last time. -- he hit. Tony Eccles is the vibrant. --

the vibrant. He is coiled and ready to pounce. For the match. A great

first dart. In the match dart goes begging. -- another. He has headed.

He takes this into a deciding fifth leg. He is the man who never knows

when he's beaten. Game on. Wesley Harms was on 40. Robbie Green did

get a that start here but he missed it and that is a huge 106 checkout.

Where is Robbie scoring? Oh, there it is.

He came back from 2-1 and, more significantly, 3-2 down to beat

Wesley Harms. He is getting himself and hide standing chance of taking

this set. -- an outstanding chance. One step at a time for Tony Eccles,

it is the only way he can go. He needed the 16 for double top.

Funny how being on the brink of defeat frees up the arm. Being on

the brink of victory makes it almost impossible to release the darts!

Low-pressure. Well, not much. But this is for the set. It is a set in

which Robbie Green missed a match dart. He has been there before and

it has all unravelled for him. Tony Eccles takes the set. 4-2. Still,

all of the olds stacked in Kong's favour. -- all of the old.

Nice start. Can Tony respond? He can. Still with a two set a band,

still the overwhelming favourite. The finishing line is getting close.

And a little bit closer. 180. Treble 12 four double 18. That

missed match dart did not seem to do him much harm. He moves back within

two legs of a place within the semifinal. He has been two points

away with one dart in his hand. He has slowly improved since his

Lakeside debut in 2010, when he lost the opening match of the tournament

to Tony O'Shea, Robbie Green. He then reached round two in 2012. Last

year, he went one better, reaching the quarterfinals when Tony O'Shea

beat him again. Will he go one better here? Or will he stall in the

quarters? He will kick himself if he does.

It is only going to take one wriggle through from Tony Eccles -- one

break of throw from Tony Eccles. That is how crucial every leg of

darts is, despite the fact it is first to five and Green is for-2 up.

-- Green is for-2 up. So, a 14th 180 followed by 16 and

tops to move the leg away again. Ruth, we feel for you. He has got to

hit this. Double six, now. The first leg of the match, he won that way.

He has done it that way. It is crucial. Three legs left,

potentially in this set, Tony Eccles has to break the Green throw. That

will take us through to a thrilling ninth set.

It is only going to take one inspirational moment from Eccles and

the game could change. It does not look as though that

inspiration is likely to come in this leg. He will only have one more

chance. Robbie has hit 164 already in this match. This time he does not

really needed. This time, he definitely cannot get it starting

with a one, but straight back in at treble 20.

Tony, nowhere. Robbie... He is on 41, having hit the treble. So, 32.

And a double 16, the one he missed. Tony assessing what he needs. He is

going to go for it. And he gets it as well. 180! Will he get to within

a leg of the finals? The tension is rising and the heat is on. Here is

the chance for Eccles to break. He needs to break. 12 for bull. Double

13 instead. Massive dark, missed. At one stage, Robbie Green missed 14

darts in a row to move within a leg. Then he had one dart for a

place in the semifinals, which he missed. Under all sorts of pressure.

One more dart. Double 4-mac... He is finishing early in the game.

Just when he looked like he could do no wrong, Kong has frozen as the

finishing line approaches. He has hit only three of his last 20

doubles, including a missed match dart. You say he missed one, he got

the chance to miss one. I wonder how many more would or could have been

missed in that deciding leg. He has been able to manoeuvre his way to

within one leg of the match. Eccles at his best has had two ton 40s.

Apart from a loose first art, it has worked, but he is not on a finish.

Tony will be. What he would do for a 140 here.

Great last act. Will he be back? Treble 20 and bull, he will be back.

He can do this in two darts. This is for a place in the semifinals.

Robbie Green, the fourth seed. Treble 20. Tops, he needs. To more

match darts missed! Monumental 87 for Tony Eccles. Double 18. 99. --

double nine. And the finishing line is inside again. Eg is himself up.

It is top spin a match. -- he is geeing himself up.

He has missed three more of them. The missed match dart count rises to

six. Tony has a chance at double four.

He has missed four darts to stay alive, double four. He misses

another two! This is absolutely extraordinary. Wow!

It is Robbie who will throw first. I think Tony thought he had broken. He

has not. Well, well, well, Robbie, how are you feeling? Still scoring

OK. That is a solid start. He has the darts in this leg. But those

darts, those match darts, will be weighing very happily on his mind.

-- very heavily. I wonder if that match against

Martin Adams has gone through his mind, five years ago. He lost the

game when he missed the match dart. The tension is palpable, the heat

rising all the time. It is tropical. Again, it takes a little bit closer,

but. He will be thinking, as he is scoring, it will be all about the

battle on the double. That has been pressure from Tony Eccles. He would

come down here. A brilliant 171. This is just fantastic. Here comes

the finishing line. It is Robbie Green who is their first again. His

next dart is for the match. But this time, he finds the double. Robbie

Green! That is sheer exhilaration on the face of Robbie Green. He threw

some stunning darts. But the man who would be King is two games away from

the coronation. Credit to Tony Eccles. He played his part in a

superb match. If it is to be his last in the Lakeside stage, what a

match! Robbie Green is through to the semifinals.

He is indeed. As we welcome you back here Robbie has been watching

himself and going through it all again. Bobby George has been bending

his ear and saying you should have went with that finish. My heart goes

out you having to go through that. There was a period when you came

back from the interval and you got some marvellous checkouts. That is a

glimpse of how when you have a good day, you can beat anyone. Yes. I

just have to sustain it now. I felt the game started off all right and

then it got a little sloppy. Is this the question of your performance,

closing it out? You need to prove that to yourself? You need to learn

and I need to be -- to improve. I need to make sure it doesn't happen

again. It is always at the back of your mind. We watched Stephen

Bunting and he won his match. He admitted that he felt nervous. Is it

an open semifinal? Stephen Bunting won comfortably in the end but I did

not feel he played as well as he could have done. He was scrappy. He

was playing to first. It is open. I was disappointed in his performance.

What did you think? I think he studied very slowly but there's the

game went on, he studied to get to grips with it and took control of

it. But if he gets on top of you, he will bully you. So you need a quick

start. This is the ochie, and BBC One. Robbie, you are in the

semifinal. What does it mean? It means everything. It is the pinnacle

of your career. I am one game away from the final. I have one more game

to play and it is one game at a time. I must go through this. You're

not going to become world champion by playing easy games. You have to

fight for this. From the very beginning it felt like someone would

have to beat Stephen Bunting to get this title. It is the same with

every turn and. You must not Stephen Bunting out. He is playing so well.

-- with every competition. We enjoyed watching you play just as

much. The thing is you can usually rely on hometown support. All of the

Merseyside supporters for watching all of the boys together. You have

split the country. Everyone back home is looking forward to this.

They no one of us will be in the final and that is great for them. It

has all the makings of a really great game hasn't it, Bobby George?

Both of them have that thing of getting over the finish line. It

will be close. Do not miss this opportunity. But you cannot think

like that. You have to do it naturally. You cannot think about it

too much. The best of luck to you. We will be here with you. We are on

a from 3:15pm. -- on-air. You would never sign the permission slip for

this. We sent Bobby George back to school. We sent to the mathematics

class to make it more interesting. Oh dear! OK. Hello. Lots of students

see Bobby on the television all the time and he is a very relevant

person to them and he deals with mathematics every day. It is

important to promote mathematics at every opportunity and he is a local

legend services too much to turn down. Did think mathematics is

boring? Well you need mathematics and everything you need in life. It

is just not numbers and writing it down. -- do you think. Mathematics

is hugely important in school and we are trying very hard here to raise

the profile and make it enjoyable and relevant. 96. He was sharp. They

definitely have the ideas of doubles and trebles and manipulating

numbers. That is something we can build on. Here we go. Just throw the

same. There you go. Don't think about it. Not that. You have got the

darts close together. A round of applause. It was really fun meeting

Bobby. I love darts. My grandfather used to play in the league. He has

died now but he got me into darts and it has been really wonderful

meeting Bobby. I really pleased that I have won the dark wood. Thalik

Mohan-Raj it is really important for the children to see someone up

Robbie's magnitude and to see him interacting with them and talking

about his career and his enjoyment and his passion for everything. It

is great. You go. School is out. We would like to say thank you to

everyone at the school for hosting this. You cannot do algebra in the

dark but in terms of engaging children and getting them to like

maps, it seems like a way you can really bring imagination to early

maps lessons. It gives the children a chance, those who are not very

good. All it is is six times tables. If you can teach them basic things

and you carry on from there to different combinations, they grasp

it very quickly. They were fantastic. They really enjoyed it.

Young Sam, he got the darts close as together so he took on the dark

board. I let them a quiz to do to win a set of my darts. I'm

interested to see who wins it. Your darts are brilliant. I have an

waiting for you to say that. I have to tell you something, it is the

first time yesterday, set up my darts, he says to me last night that

he scored his first 180! That is his first time. Do you know what I hit

after it? 26. You have hit at once now, you will do it all the time.

You go. The children have asked for a lunchtime darts club as well.

Bobby made a nice difference there. But back to the big boys tonight. A

reminder of what we have coming up and stop you have the lady

semifinal. Fallon Sherrock takes on Anastasia Dobromyslova. -- the

ladies semifinal. That will be a close in counter. Then we have the

men's quarterfinals. James Wilson takes on Alan Norris. Jan Dekker

takes on Martin Adams. The man standing next to me has a remarkable

record. 21 consecutive years and it is now 14 appearances in the

quarterfinals. I am glad someone was counting because I wasn't. That is

unreal. You have done the quiet way this year. We know you haven't had

the best of form leading up to this competition. You are still in it.

You're getting closer. I am back buzzing. It has been hard work. I

have worked hard over the past few months and I am pleased to get some

of the competitions under my belt. I have regained some confidence. How

much difference does it make, the fact that you come here in the

knowledge that on three occasions this has been your stage and this

has in your title? It gives you great comfort. You know all the

experience that you have playing the games here, it is all about being in

the final. First of all you have to get to the final. Then you take it

from there. But you must get there first. Jan Dekker is a tough

competitor to play. It is a hard way, no matter what way you look at

it. Jan Dekker has a great record here at the Lakeside. Other

commentators have said that we have not seen the best from him yet. He

got to the semifinal on his debut. He has the knack for the big stage.

I hope he leaves his best at home but this much. If he is in tiptop

shape, I will be in trouble. We will have a good game of darts and

hopefully I will come out on top. You have been there before. I wish

you the best of luck. Thank you. Remarkable. Stephen Bunting had

averages of over 100. That game was not close. All of the quarterfinals

tonight for me close. Wilson against Norris, that would be close. Martin

Adams versus Jan Dekker, Jan Dekker has not really shown that he can

play top darts. Martin Adams has not lost many shots and he is finishing.

That is the most important part of the game. Martin Adams is finishing

great and scoring reasonably. You want to see all of these matches

from 5:30pm. That is all from us by now. The highlights programme is on

at 11 minutes -- 11pm tonight. Thanks for joining us.