GIANT-KILLER Aden Kirk continued his dream run at the Coral UK Open by knocking out Peter Wright in the Fourth Round at the Butlins Minehead Resort, as former champions James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld progressed to the last 16.
Kirk caused arguably the greatest upset in the history of the UK Open on his televised debut on Friday as he defeated reigning champion Phil Taylor in the Third Round.
The 22-year-old from Nottingham followed that up with another assured display as he overcame World Championship finalist and current Premier League Darts leader Peter Wright 9-5 in the last 32 on Saturday afternoon.
Kirk opened the game with a 129 checkout and also finished 117 as he led 3-2, only to see Wright win the next three legs for a 5-3 advantage.
Kirk, a product of the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour over the past three years, hit back to level and finished 78 for a key break as he moved 7-5 up, before winning the next two legs to complete another huge shock with six successive legs.
Kirk will now play Northern Irish number one Brendan Dolan, who defeated Nigel Heydon 9-7 in their last 32 game on Saturday afternoon, in the Fifth Round as he bids to win through to Sunday's final stages.
Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis hit seven 180s as he produced a superb fightback from 7-3 down to win in a deciding leg against Belgium's Ronny Huybrechts, who checked out a 167 finish as he took command only to see the Stoke ace claim victory with 13-darter in the final leg.
Lewis now plays 2006 and 2007 UK Open champion Raymond van Barneveld in a tasty Fifth Round clash, with the Dutchman in fine form as he saw off Joe Murnan 9-3, initially taking a 5-0 lead before winning the final four legs without reply.
Another two-time UK Open winner, James Wade, landed a 139 finish during a 9-5 win over the younger Huybrechts brother, Kim, as he moved into the last 16.
Wade was later drawn against Terry Jenkins for another eye-catching last 16 game on Saturday evening, with the seven-time major finalist winning 9-5 against Paul Nicholson in their fourth round contest.
World Champion Michael van Gerwen defeated 2013 UK Open finalist Andy Hamilton 9-5 and now plays Mark Webster, the former UK Open semi-finalist who enjoyed a narrow 9-8 win over Paul Hogan.
Hampshire's Hogan, a Rileys Amateur Qualifier for the event, had come from 5-2 down to lead 7-5, only for Webster to punish his missed match darts in the deciding leg of a thriller.
Stephen Bunting missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish in the opening leg of his clash with Dean Winstanley, who went on to claim a 9-6 victory as the pair shared 16 180s during a high-quality contest.
Winstanley has been drawn against Kevin Painter in the Fifth Round, with the former Players Championship Finals winner securing a 9-4 win over Andrew Gilding.
Mervyn King was in superb form as he averaged 101 and sealed his 9-4 win over Dave Chisnall with a 154 finish, and he now plays Christian Kist, the former Lakeside Champion who edged out Vincent van der Voort 9-8 in a dramatic last 32 clash, as the 2007 runner-up was punished for missing match darts in the final three legs.
Gary Anderson's strong form continued with a 9-5 win over Shropshire youngster David Pallett, and he will face Stoke's Ian White in the last 16 after the World Championship quarter-finalist won by the same scoreline against Alex Roy.
2012 UK Open champion Robert Thornton was knocked out 9-7 by Austrian Mensur Suljovic, who now plays emerging Welsh youngster Jamie Lewis, who was a 9-5 winner over Plymouth-based Rileys Amateur Qualifier Simon Stevenson.
2014 Coral UK Open
Saturday March 8
Afternoon Session (11.45am-5pm)
Fourth Round - Best of 17 legs
Main Stage
James Wade 9-5 Kim Huybrechts
Vincent van der Voort 8-9 Christian Kist
Michael van Gerwen 9-5 Andy Hamilton
Aden Kirk 9-5 Peter Wright
Ronny Huybrechts 8-9 Adrian Lewis
Stage Two
Paul Nicholson 5-9 Terry Jenkins
Raymond van Barneveld 9-3 Joe Murnan
Dave Chisnall 4-9 Mervyn King
Dean Winstanley 9-6 Stephen Bunting
Stage Three
Alex Roy 5-9 Ian White
Nigel Heydon 7-9 Brendan Dolan
Kevin Painter 9-4 Andrew Gilding
Stage Four
Mensur Suljovic 9-7 Robert Thornton
Gary Anderson 9-5 David Pallett
Jamie Lewis 9-5 Simon Stevenson
Mark Webster 9-8 Paul Hogan
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN and Adrian Lewis remain in the hunt to claim the Coral UK Open title following dominant Fifth Round victories on Saturday night, but giant-killer Aden Kirk's challenge ended with defeat to Brendan Dolan.
World Champion van Gerwen swept into the last eight of the £250,000 tournament at the Butlins Minehead Resort with a 9-4 win over Mark Webster, averaging 100 in a strong performance.
The Dutchman actually trailed 2-0 early on as Webster started brightly, and after being pegged back level the Welsh ace led 3-2 - only for van Gerwen to win the next six legs in devastating fashion, following up back-to-back 13-dart legs with an 11-darter during the run.
Webster hit back in the next on double ten, but missed the bull to continue his fightback as van Gerwen posted double eight to move into the quarter-finals.
Van Gerwen now plays Ian White in the last eight, with the Stoke ace enjoying a 9-7 victory over 2010 finalist Gary Anderson in their Fifth Round encounter.
Two-time World Champion Lewis, meanwhile, stormed into the last eight for a second successive year of the event with a brilliant 9-2 win over Raymond van Barneveld, the 2006 and 2007 UK Open winner.
Lewis won the game's first three legs without reply before van Barneveld hit back in the fourth, but Lewis completed a run of five straight legs with a stunning 154 finish before holding off his opponent's brief rally to progress.
Lewis has been drawn with Mensur Suljovic in the last eight, after the Austrian won through to his first PDC major quarter-final with a 9-5 victory against emerging Welsh youngster Jamie Lewis.
James Wade, another two-time UK Open winner, also exited the event in the Fifth Round as he agonisingly went down 9-8 to Terry Jenkins in a thriller.
Jenkins led 2-0 before Wade, aided by a 101 finish, hit back to level at three-all, only for the Ledbury ace to defy a 136 checkout from the left-hander in winning five of the next seven legs for an 8-5 advantage.
Wade hit back to level and force a decider, but Jenkins was first to a finish as double ten put him into the last eight, where he meets Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan after the former World Grand Prix finalist ended Aden Kirk's amazing run.
Kirk had knocked out Phil Taylor and Peter Wright in reaching the last 16 on his debut in a major tournament, and again impressed as he shared the opening 14 legs with Dolan, who then landed a pair of 13-dart finishes to claim a 9-7 win.
The other quarter-final will see Kevin Painter face Mervyn King, who won through to that stage in the UK Open for the first time with a 9-6 defeat of Holland's Christian Kist.
Painter, meanwhile, opened up a 7-1 lead over Dean Winstanley in their Fifth Round clash with some superb finishing, and though the Yorkshireman took out 136 and set up a possible nine-darter as he battled back, the 2011 Players Championship Finals winner prevailed 9-5.
2014 Coral UK Open
Saturday March 8
Fifth Round - Best of 17 legs
Main Stage
Brendan Dolan 9-7 Aden Kirk
Terry Jenkins 9-8 James Wade
Michael van Gerwen 9-4 Mark Webster
Adrian Lewis 9-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Stage Two
Mensur Suljovic 5-9 Jamie Lewis
Gary Anderson 7-9 Ian White
Mervyn King 9-6 Christian Kist
Kevin Painter 9-5 Dean Winstanley
Quarter-Finals Order of Play
Kevin Painter v Mervyn King
Terry Jenkins v Brendan Dolan
Adrian Lewis v Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen v Ian White
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