Sport: Darts, Paul Nicholson

Sunday quarter-final roundup

Published: Sunday, 31 January 2010, 4:46PM

Phil Taylor overcame a stuttering start to defeat Colin Lloyd and book a semi-final against Paul Nicholson at the totesport.com Players' Championship.

Taylor found himself 5-3 down at one stage, as Jaws savaged the board with a string of high-scoring legs, however he won four on the spin to take the initiative before holding his nerve late on for a 9-7 win.

The 15-time world champion revealed: "He seemed to take the darts off me. He's got the heart of a lion. Nicholson will be another tough one."

In the first quarter-final, Nicholson hung in with Adrian Lewis to grind out a 9-7 victory and reach his first televised semi-final. The sartorially elegant oche jockey traded legs early on, before winning the last three.

The Asset enthused: "As far as guts and sticking in there goes, that's the number one win of my career. Adrian outscored me, but I hit some key doubles and some big finishes early on."

Colin Osborne followed up with a nerve-shredding 9-8 victory over Wes Newton, after it looked like his double misses would cost him. Newton started strongly to lead 6-3, only for Osborne to reel off five in a row.

Newton bagged the next two, before Osborne found double eight to win. He claimed: "It was a battle more than a darts match. I had to dig in and keep plugging away when I was 6-3 down. I want to go on and win this tonight."

Osborne faces Mervyn King, who demolished Wayne Jones 9-2 in the last quarter-final. The King has been in sensational form thus far, his earplugs drowning out the appreciation of the Purfleet audience.

He declared: "I had one effy leg. The scoreline flatters me, but I'll take it."

Semi-Finals
7.10pm - King v Osborne
8.10pm - Taylor v Nicholson

Final
9.30pm

Format
Semi-Finals - Best of 19 legs
Final - Best of 25 legs

Prize Fund
Winner: £60,000
Runner-Up: £24,000
Semi-Final Losers: £15,000

Check back for results and video highlights of the crucial evening clashes.