Phil Taylor proved he is almost human on Saturday evening at the Circus Tavern after requiring a final leg decider to take out Terry Jenkins. It was the winning of the bull in the practice room beforehand which ultimately secured Taylor's passage through to the last eight, with the Ledbury man unable to break the throw in the decisive leg. Jenkins wasn't particularly outstanding as Taylor once again produced a sub-100 average, proving that he may be there for the taking with the bookmakers standing firm at the 1/3 he was available at before yesterday's play.
Taylor's opponent on Sunday afternoon is former world number one Colin Lloyd. Lloyd was impressive in seeing off Kevin Painter with a 102.36 average on Saturday - the highest of round two and indeed Lloyd's best performance on TV in a number of years. The format now increases to the best of 17 legs which is invariably bad news for the rest of the field. 'Jaws' will need to reproduce his second round form and get himself right mentally - a feat made much more difficult in that in his 31 meetings with Taylor to date, 'The Power' has been successful on 27 occasions.
Taylor's most likely opponent in Sunday evening's final is Mervyn King. King was once again above the 100 barrier in steamrollering Holland's Jelle Klaasen in round two and now faces Wayne Jones. King is a class act on his day and if he brings his A game to Purfleet today, he could well find himself in with a great chance of lifting the title - he is 10/1 (Bwin) to do so. Touted by us at 11/2 to win this quarter in our outright preview, we are prepared to sit tight and wait for the profit to roll in. For those of a more conservative approach, load up on Jones at 7/2 (the only other possible outcome) for as much as you wish.
Adrian Lewis has revenge on his mind after being knocked out of last year's World Championship by Paul Nicholson. The two meet in the opening game of the afternoon session knowing that victory will leave them with the unenviable task of facing Taylor in the semi finals. Based on the week's showings so far, 'Jackpot' may well fancy his chances of disposing of his former mentor and going on to take his first TV title later tonight. To do so, he will need to eliminate the lapses of concentration that have seen his game deteriorate in the latter stages of his two games to date.
The other match features the in form pair of Colin Osborne & Wes Newton - the two men flagged up by us at for this quarter at 4/1 & 8/1 respectively. Osborne has been steady if unspectacular in taking care of Dutchmen Co Stompe & Michael van Gerwen. Newton has recorded winning averages well into the 90s in his wins over Peter Wright & Ronnie Baxter yet is adjudged the 7/4 outsider here.
The quarter finals commence at 13:00 this afternoon with the remaining 4 men battling it out to a finish in the evening session.
Tournament Outright
Phil Taylor 1/3
Mervyn King 10/1
Adrian Lewis 12/1
Colin Osorne 16/1
Wes Newton 40/1
Paul Nicholson 40/1
Colin Lloyd 50/1
Wayne Jones 66/1
