Michael Smith destroys below par Dimitri van den Bergh (70.56) to reach UK Open quarter-finals

Michael Smith has qualified for the quarter-finals of the UK Open at the expense of Dimitri van den Bergh. 'The Dreammaker' did not have his night and did not appear in the play at all. In the end, 'Bully Boy', who did not play great either, was easily too strong for the Belgian with 10-3.

Both men had to warm up on the doubles at the beginning of the match. Smith needed 11 arrows to win the first leg via a 25-darter. Van den Bergh did not seem to get into his game at all and struggled to find trebles. This allowed Smith to run out to a 3-0 lead relatively easily via an 18-darter and a 17-darter.

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In the next leg, the Belgian finally managed to get on the board. In this leg it was Smith who could not hit a treble, giving Van den Bergh no less than 11(!) darts on the double to get on the board via a 23-darter. In leg 5 it was again difficult and eventually it was Smith who extended his lead to 4-1 via a 17-darter. Up to this point both men recorded averages of 74.97 (Smith) and 66.31 (Dimitri van den Bergh) respectively.

Even after the break the sparks did not fly. Van den Bergh won the sixth leg with a 20-darter. Smith immediately extended his lead to 5-2 with a 15-darter.

After 'The Dreammaker' managed to win another leg, Smith recorded the best leg of the match. With an 11-darter the former world champion made it 6-3, while Van den Bergh was still on 368(!). The tenth leg also went to Smith without any problems.

After the second break of the match, Van den Bergh did not get back in the match either and also saw the last three legs go to Smith. 'Bully Boy' thus managed to qualify for the quarterfinals with relative ease, while Van den Bergh ultimately got no further than an average of 70.56 and hobbled off without a chance.

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