The first semi-final is confirmed at the New South Wales Darts Masters and for the home crowd, it was nearly the perfect tie with Damon Heta through in superb fashion.
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But Simon Whitlock was edged out in the second Quarter-Final by Dimitri van den Bergh with the potential of the World Cup teammates colliding for a spot in the final being spoiled by 'The Dreammaker'.
Alas though, Heta was superb as he defeated Gerwyn Price 6-3 producing massive finishes of 152 and 124 en route to victory.
It wasn't his stellar 106 average from the opening night with only 89 hit, but it was the outer ring that proved the difference as he went 50% compared to only 23.1% from 'The Iceman' who spoke of his want to go home and two sleeps left and he will now get that wish.
As ever, it was a slow start from Price with Heta flying out of the traps to a 3-0 lead. He continued to build with a 152 for 4-1. But a 78 checkout and double six from Price saw him back within one. Heta though pounced on missed darts at doubles and then surged home with a 124 on the bull to win. Superb from 'The Heat'.
Next up like alluded to will be Dimitri van den Bergh who continues his love affair with the World Series. He took out Simon Whitlock 6-4 with a 97.8 average to set up that tie with Heta.
The Australian Women's World Cup team won through on penalties while they were playing and this sent the crowd into a frenzy.
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But Van den Bergh was 5-3 up at that point and wasn't set to be denied by a Whitlock comeback as he averted a 110 checkout to make it 5-4 to seal the deal at 6-4 and edge through.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
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VAN DEN BERGH INTO THE LAST FOUR 🇧🇪
Dimitri Van den Bergh knocks out Australian favourite Simon Whitlock in a 6-4 victory!
He will face Damon Heta in the Semi-Finals...
#NSWDarts | QF
📺 bit.ly/2023NSWDarts