Martin Lukeman put in a sensational display against Rob Cross; Mickey Mansell and Cameron Menzies went all the way to a last-leg decider with Mansell coming away with victory; watch the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton until November 17 - live on Sky Sports
Friday 15 November 2024 23:12, UK
Rob Cross suffered a shock 16-11 Grand Slam quarter-final defeat to Martin Lukeman on his debut in Wolverhampton.
2023 finalist Cross romped into the lead in the opening session, Cross breaking Lukeman in the first leg and the fifth to take a strong 4-1 lead.
A hold of throw then gave 'Voltage' a four-leg cushion, but Lukeman stayed strong, taking out the bull for a break and a huge 121 checkout also on the bullseye to sweep four legs in a row to claw the score back to all square at 5-5.
From there, Lukeman started to dictate the game and was hitting trebles with ease, in total taking seven legs on the spin to move into an 8-5 advantage, Cross stopping the rot on D4 to cut the deficit by one.
However, Lukeman immediately put the pressure back on with a sensational 144 checkout to move back out to 9-6 in front, Cross showing his class with 104 and 113 outs to bring the game back to 9-8.
With the game then back level after 20 legs Lukeman continued to be efficient and score brilliantly, breaking Cross with a 10-darter and moving 13-10 up, a superb 89 on the bull giving him a 14-11 advantage.
Then averaging over 103, Lukeman stayed right in the zone and broke the fourth seed once again to move one leg away from a huge victory, wrapping up the match to book his spot in his first ever major semi-final.
It is another sensational upset, Lukeman booking his spot in the competition through the qualifiers.
"It's a bit of a blur to be fair," Lukeman told Sky Sports.
"I remember taking 144 out and had a few finishes on the bull, but apart from that I was just so concentrated.
"I'm doing this, I'm having a picture with my wife with the trophy on this stage, simple as that.
"He's a gentleman (Mickey Mansell). We're about 50/50 at the Pro Tour. He's a good player and I'm not taking anything for granted."
"But I'm up for a war!"
Lukeman will now face Mickey Mansell who kept his composure to beat Cameron Menzies in a last-leg decider.
Menzies got off to a flyer in the opening session, averaging close to 100 and taking the first four legs in a row with two breaks of throw to lead 4-1 early into the contest.
It was not the Mansell we had seen in the early stages of this tournament who blew away the likes of Luke Humphries in his group.
However, Mansell came back out determined and found two breaks of throw of his own to get himself back into the tie, Menzies breaking back and them holding his throw to secure a 6-4 advantage.
It continued to be a battle between the two as they held their throw well, Mansell dragging himself with in one leg as the match was finely poised at 8-7, breaking Menzies once again to drag the match level at 10-10 in what was turning into a nail-biting clash.
While Menzies continued to come up with clutch moments, including a big 126 checkout to level the game at 11-11, Mansell broke the Scotsman to bring things to 14-14 and in the decider, with nerves hitting both, Mansell hit tops to secure the biggest match of his career.
"Unbelievable. Today I couldn't let this opportunity pass me," Mansell told Sky Sports.
"My scoring was fantastic but I thought was the better player bar I was missing doubles and tops.
"All of a sudden my finishing left me. I don't change, I stick to the proven track record and tops at the end was the proven track record."
The quarter-finals continue on Saturday November 16 as Luke Littler takes on Jermaine Wattimena and Gian van Veen plays Gary Anderson. You can join us live on Sky Sports from 7pm.
