World no's 2 and 3 win through quarter-finals on Thursday night to set up Sunday afternoon semi-final
Friday 17 November 2017 22:58, UK
Peter Wright set up a blockbusting Grand Slam semi-final with Gary Anderson after ending the hopes of BDO world champion Glen Durrant.
The remaining two quarter-finals take place on Saturday evening when Phil Taylor takes on Daryl Gurney and Michael van Gerwen meets Rob Cross, but on Friday night two of the world's top three took centre stage and advanced to the last four.
Wright ended the hopes of Durrant with a 16-10 win that included two near misses at a magical nine-darter from the Middlesbrough man, but it was 'Snakebite's' finishing that proved to be the deciding factor.
A host of missed early darts at doubles from Durrant allowed world No 3 and UK Open champion Wright to forge a huge advantage but Durrant fought back valiantly, to match Wright in the averages and outscore him on the 180s.
'Snakebite' set up his semi-final spot where he will face Anderson, who was pushed all the way by Champions League winner Mensur Suljovic.
Anderson, runner-up in 2011, reached his fifth Grand Slam semi-final and, having been beaten by James Wade last year, will hope to go one better on Sunday afternoon.
In the opening match of the evening, it was Wright who scrambled to the early advantage, edging the opening session largely due to eight missed darts at doubles from Durrant.
'Snakebite' was clinical, with finishes of 95 and 80 ensuring he took all three chances that came his way only to return from the interval to miss four darts for a 4-2 lead and give Duzza a chance to get a foothold.
But the man from Teesside handed the break straight back before seeing Wright go four legs clear with more no-nonsense finishing, while Durrant's errant doubling continued and 'Snakebite' hoovered up 76 to lead 7-3 at the second interval.
With Wright powering away, Duzza's finishing continued to let him down, notably in the 15th leg when three visits went awry on three different doubles and Wright, despite missed chances himself, took advantage to lead 11-4.
Durrant finally found a double 16 to stay afloat but it only looked like delaying the inevitable as Wright moved 14-6 in front.
With the winning post in sight, Durrant put together his best run, claiming three successive legs and going six darts into a nine-dart finish. He fell short although he would go even closer.
Staring at a fourth leg on the bounce and a 14-10 deficit, Duzza wasted two chances and Wright punished him to stand one leg away.
There was time for one last flash from Durrant as in the 25th leg he almost produced a very special and memorable moment with eight perfect darts.
He missed the dart at double 12 for a nine-dart finish and Wright managed to see out the match, but Durrant can hold his head high after producing the BDO's best performance in the tournament since 2013.
Anderson ensured an all-Scottish semi-final with a dominant performance against Suljovic, despite never totally shaking off the threat of the Austrian.
A blistering start from Anderson saw him into a 4-2 advantage with a 107 average and a 100 per cent success rate on the doubles but as is his way, Suljovic edged his way back into the contest.
The Austrian won three of the next four legs, including a 113 finish and a clinical 25 clean-up after Anderson failed to take out 22.
With a change of the board requested by Suljovic, an agitated Anderson returned and refocused to open up a two-leg advantage and, with Suljovic faltering, the Scot cleaned up 60 for an 8-5 lead that became 9-5 when the two-time world champion pinned double top again.
Anderson missed a chance for a fifth leg in succession and Suljovic reeled off three on the bounce before the Scot pinned double 10 to stop the run.
Another double 14 brought Suljovic back to within one but Anderson remained in control.
A blistering burst with the finish line in site was enough to get the job done but only after another scare from Suljovic, who closed to within two and then missed two darts at tops to reduce the gap to one.
Anderson pinned double top to claim his 15th leg and when five missed match darts went unpunished he returned to claim his place in the last four.
The Grand Slam of Darts continues on Sky Sports on Saturday with the remaining two quarter-finals, coverage is underway on Sky Sports Action from 7pm with the second quarter-finals on Saturday from 8pm on the same channel
Keep up to date with the news as the tungsten enters its busiest time of year with the PDC World Championships just around the corner get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts.
