"This is the moment that he's dreamed of" 💭 Richie Howson defeats the great Phil Taylor to progress to the semi-finals! #WorldSeniorsDarts
The Owl turns The Power off as home hero Howson dumps out Taylor, set to face superb Soldier as Gates ends Fitton's run
WSDTSunday, 12 February 2023 at 16:04
Pre-tournament, Richie Howson said it was his dream to face Phil Taylor but not only has 'The Owl' done that but he has beaten the 16-time World Champion on the Circus Tavern stage to move into the semi-finals of the World Seniors Darts Championship.
A home tournament for Howson who has been ultra dominant on the World Seniors Tour and shown his pedigree in these tournaments, he will now return this evening after a 3-1 win over the greatest of all time.
Taylor started the better of the two taking the opening set without reply but Howson who counted on home support living five minutes away from the iconic venue settled into the tie and levelled up at 1-1.
Howson broke Taylor's throw on double eight to begin set three and held from there for a clean sweep of his own.
Taylor finally stopped the rot after Howson had won the previous seven legs and had darts to make it eight but broke back to go one away from making his dreams a reality and pinned double 18 first time.
He will now face another unseeded player in Leonard Gates who again continues to impress on the Circus Tavern stage and could emerge as one of the favourites tonight.
Seeing off Darryl Fitton in a clash dubbed as The Dancer v The Dazzler, it was the former that prevailed in a 3-1 sets win with another mid 90's average in 94.5 and a match winning 140 checkout to finish with a flourish.
Fitton led to begin the tie with a superb double double 100 checkout en route to 1-0 but Gates hit back and sealed the second set with a 68 checkout to tie it up.
Gates continued his brilliance with an 81 checkout to break before sealing the set on double 20 with some superb finishing when it mattered most. This showed in his match winning effort as he took out 140 with Fitton waiting on 124 to look to prolong it.
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