“At one point I thought: stop hitting those trebles, mate” - Dirk van Duijvenbode narrowly holds off Gary Anderson fightback

Dirk van Duijvenbode has reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay for the first time in his career. The Dutchman seemed to be cruising to a straightforward win over Gary Anderson in Blackpool but saw the Scot creep alarmingly close in the closing stages. In the end, Van Duijvenbode still edged it 16-13.

With that victory, the 34-year-old Dutchman reaches the last four of the prestigious tournament for the first time. Although the final score suggests otherwise, the contest was one-way traffic for long spells. Van Duijvenbode built a big lead and was even 15-8 up before Anderson launched an impressive fightback.

Van Duijvenbode saw the experienced Scot grow into rhythm just as he himself needed one more leg to finish the job. “At one point I thought: just stop hitting those triples, mate,” he told Viaplay.

Where many players would have resigned themselves at such a deficit, Anderson kept believing in a turnaround. “I wasn’t happy about that, because normally you think it’s done with that kind of lead. That we’ll just wrap up the last two legs. He didn’t agree.”

With every leg Anderson won, the tension on stage increased. Van Duijvenbode felt the match slowly starting to slip from his grasp. “The closer he gets, the more annoying it becomes.”

The Dutchman knew he had to close it out as quickly as possible. “I was hoping I’d finish it off fast, otherwise it would get awkward. Well, it almost did.”

Despite the mounting pressure, he kept faith in his scoring power. Van Duijvenbode reminded himself that one strong leg would be enough to get the match over the line. “I thought: I can always throw a 12-darter or a 15-darter.”

That conviction proved justified. In the 29th leg he produced successive scores of 134, 180, and another 134 to lay the platform for the decisive victory.

When asked how he suddenly managed to hit top gear again at such a crucial moment, the trademark answer followed. “Just aim and hit.”

According to Van Duijvenbode, it wasn’t only the tension at play. The atmosphere in the Winter Gardens also affected his game. The crowd overwhelmingly backed Anderson, something the Dutchman had already experienced earlier this week in his match against Michael van Gerwen. “In my head I think it’s going to drop at some point.”

He recognized the same feelings as during his earlier win over the three-time world champion. “At one point it stopped flowing then as well. You just get intimidated again. It’s exactly the same with the crowd fully on his side and then I miss a few doubles.”

Despite that difficult spell, Van Duijvenbode held firm and prevented Anderson from completing one of the biggest comebacks in World Matchplay history.