Darts: Ex-protégé Lewis crushed by The Power

Published on Saturday 2 January 2010 10:18

PHIL TAYLOR remains on course for his 15th world title after sweeping aside his former apprentice Adrian Lewis in the quarter-finals of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.

Lewis had some encouraging moments in the opening stages, but Taylor soon found his rhythm and never let up as he rolled to a 5-0 victory.

Lewis was swept aside as Taylor won leg after leg to race to a 4-0 lead. "Jackpot" managed to win the first leg of the fifth set, but Taylor quickly levelled matters.

In a tense third leg, "The Power" hit a maximum but Lewis immediately hit back with one of his own and went on to take a 2-1 lead.

Taylor tied it at 2-2 and Lewis began to look like a man who knew the game was up.

He nevertheless managed a maximum but Taylor did not break sweat as he responded with a 100 and then a maximum of his own before finishing the job with a double eight.

"I thought there was a lot of pressure on Adrian to be fair," Taylor said. "It's okay getting past the first and second round but then you've got to perform.

"But you can start to play your proper darts now and that's what I did. He was fantastic, but I just didn't give him a chance really."

Simon Whitlock had been the star of the earlier matches as he knocked out James Wade 5-3 in an outstanding battle.

The Australian hit 15 maximums and recorded an average of 105.37 as he saw off the challenge of Wade.

Whitlock took a 3-1 lead, then watched Wade come back to level the match at 3-3, before recovering his composure and finishing the job.

"That's probably the hardest match I've ever played in," Whitlock said. "I was really focused and knew that I had to play at my best. My whole life has changed through this one tournament and I have been able to gain a sponsor too and that will enable me to move to the UK and play on the PDC circuit full-time this year."

Raymond van Barneveld cruised through with a 5-0 thrashing of Robbie Baxter.

In his third straight-sets victory of the tournament, Van Barneveld did not drop a leg in either of the opening two sets.

Debutant Mark Webster held on for a 5-3 win over Co Stompe. Webster raced into a 4-0 lead before the Dutchman responded with three sets of his own, but Webster finished the job in the eighth.