Michael van Gerwen into World Championship quarter-finals as Rob Cross bows out
Van Gerwen won an all-Dutch clash with Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Michael van Gerwen advanced to the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship on Friday with victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode, while fellow former champion Rob Cross bowed out.
The Netherlands’ three-time winner Van Gerwen saw off his compatriot Van Duijvenbode 4-1 at Alexandra Palace, averaging 100.42.
Assessing his performance, Van Gerwen told a press conference: “Average, it wasn’t perfect, but I did some really important shots when I had to.
“I knew Dirk wasn’t playing well and he was trying to find the rhythm, trying to slow me down, speed up, and he didn’t do himself any favours.
“Then you need to say to yourself ‘take a step back, relax a bit and try to punish him’, and that’s exactly what I did. Of course it wasn’t magical, but I won.”
Van Gerwen’s opponent in the last eight will be first-time quarter-finalist Chris Dobey, who defeated 2018 champion Cross as he came from 2-1 down to triumph 4-2.
Last year’s runner-up Michael Smith advanced with a 4-1 win against Joe Cullen and will now face Stephen Bunting, a 4-1 victor over Luke Humphries.
Germany’s Gabriel Clemens set up a last-eight clash with 2021 title-winner Gerwyn Price as he got past Alan Soutar 4-1.
And Dimitri van den Bergh emerged with a 4-0 win from an all-Belgian contest against Kim Huybrechts and will play Jonny Clayton in the other quarter-final.