Jones Riding the Crest of a Wave

Wayne Jones edged a quarter-final thriller against Gary Anderson to book his place in the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts.

Wolverhampton born Jones didn’t lead at any stage throughout the opening 30 legs of his best-of-31 match against Anderson, but when the match went to a deciding leg he held his nerve to book a place in the last four and send the crowd wild.

Jones’s win gave credence to the sentiment that a game is never over until it is over and also showed the strength of the man’s character. At no stage before the final leg did ‘The Wanderer’ look like he could win but support from a partisan crowd cheering for their local player eventually proved enough to get him over the line.

"I lost my way a little bit at the end and started to snatch my darts but Wayne was great and never gave in," said Anderson. "He played really well and came back brilliantly - I could never shake him off!"

Now he faces James Wade for a place in the final of the Grand Slam of Darts. ‘The Machine’ also came through in a final-leg decider after a match against Terry Jenkins which twisted and turned almost with every dart that was thrown.

Both players know that they have yet to reach their very best this week and if either of them can hit top form here then they could well be contesting the final later in the evening.

It is Wade who has the experience at this stage of major tournaments though and that is why the bookmakers have made him the clear favourite for this one. However, Jones has shown on numerous occasions this week how much of an advantage the home support can provide and can’t be written off here.