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11th Oct 2012

The Power goes out but Dolan is still rollin’

Reigning champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was knocked out of the Darts Grand Prix at Citywest last night. Can our own Brendan Dolan now step in and take the crown?

JOE

Reigning champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was knocked out of the Darts Grand Prix at Citywest last night. Can our own Brendan Dolan now step in and take the crown?

Any time the greatest player to ever throw a dart gets knocked out it is big news so hats off to Robert Thornton, who did just that last night in Citywest.

On Monday we spoke about the form that Thornton was in, with a win and a runner-up finish from the weekend’s ProTour events but we did warn that he would face Taylor in the second round and that would be the real test of his mettle.

Well, the Scot came through in flying colours, battling back from losing the first set to win a dramatic match 3-2. The match went to the deciding leg and Taylor incredibly missed five darts at a double to win before Thornton stepped in to win the match with double top.

He missed a few doubles tonight, and when he missed I hit,” Thornton told Sky. “I never give in that’s the thing, even when he was on the double at the end, I just wanted to hit a big score to pressure and when he missed I hit it.

“It’s not like him, normally he pegs double 16 but luck was on my side tonight and I’m delighted to have beaten him again.”

Thornton will now play Mervyn King in the quarters but it is another quarter-finalist that we will be watching closely.

Fermanagh’s Brendan Dolan, finalist last year in Citywest, is in the last eight following a 3-1 win over Dutchman Vincent van der Voort.

“The scoreline may look comfortable, but there’s nothing comfortable when you’re having to start with a double,” said Dolan to Sky afterwards. He also took time to thanks the partisan crowd.

“The crowds are unreal for me, their support means everything to me. It just gives me the adrenaline rush I probably need to get me going and get me focused on that first dart – especially with the double start.

“I’m still in it so I’ve every opportunity to get back to the final, so with the crowd and the support all behind me why not go all the way to the final again.”

With Taylor now out of Dolan’s top half of the draw, his chances look better than ever.

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Darts