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(12) Dave Chisnall 10-4 Stephen Bunting
Dave Chisnall booked his semi-final spot with a comprehensive 10-4 win over Stephen Bunting.
Chizzy - runner-up in five TV majors across the BDO and PDC, including the 2016 Masters against Michael van Gerwen whom he faces in the semi-final - will have to end a 22-match winless run against the world number one if he is to advance to the final.
The St Helens thrower hit 10 maximums, and averaged just shy of 100 to the Bullet's 93, but his checkout rate of 38.46% will need to be sharpened up.
Chisnall hit two 11-darters in the match with checkouts of 85 and 94, while he won another in 24 darts after Bunting had gone six into the perfect leg and had left 56 while Chisnall was back on 352.
(1) Michael van Gerwen 10-5 (8) Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen eased past Mensur Suljovic into the last four with a 10-5 win.
The Gentle managed to stay with the Dutchman in the first half of the match, trailing 6-4 at the second break after having taken out 161 to reduce the arrears to two legs.
The Austrian broke in the next leg with a 16 darter, before MvG found another gear to win the next four legs in 12, 13, 14 and 14 darts for an 18th successive Masters win.
He went seven darts into the perfect leg as he looked to close out the match, but still averaged six more points than his opponent and hit four more 180s with six.
He missed 22 darts at double in his first round match and 21 against Suljovic, with a checkout rate of just 32.26%.
(15) Joe Cullen 6-10 (15) James Wade
James Wade came back from 4-0 to end Joe Cullen's Masters debut.
The Rockstar had shocked former world champion Rob Cross in the first round, and took out 81 in the first leg against the Machine before edging the next three legs to take advantage of Wade's sloppy start.
But the Aldershot thrower soon found his feet, winning seven legs in a row to lead 7-4, hitting a 140 checkout, and two 81 finishes to complete 11 and 12-dart legs as he averaged over 107 in that seven-leg burst.
Cullen won the next two legs as the 2018 European Champion and World Series Champion couldn't maintain the high level, but Wade capitalised on five missed darts at double by the Bradford man to go 9-6 up before sealing the win with a 101 finish.
Wade missed 21 darts at double, affecting his average that was down at 95, while Cullen hit only six out of 28 attempts and hit only three 180s to Wade's five.
(6) Michael Smith 6-10 (3) Peter Wright
Peter Wright defeated World Championship runner-up Michael Smith 10-6 to complete the quarter-finals.
Snakebite raised his levels after a nervy match against Adrian Lewis in the first round to see past the Bully Boy into the semi-finals at the Masters for the first time.
The Scot averaged 95.07 to the Englishman's 94.96, hitting two more 180s with seven and hit the highest checkout of the match - in the last leg - with 118.
There was never more than a leg between the players until Wright moved 6-4 ahead, that came after Smith had missed three darts from 40 allowing Wright to hold throw and level at 4-4.
Wright broke throw with a 14-darter, before hitting a 101 checkout to create daylight before Smith responded with a 98 checkout to end a 12-dart leg.
Another 12-darter kept the St Helens man interested, before three legs on the spin for Wright saw him seal the win.
SEMI-FINALS
(1) Michael van Gerwen 11-7 (12) Dave Chisnall
Michael van Gerwen extended his Masters winning streak to 19 matches, and in the process continued his fine record against Dave Chisnall.
It is MvG's 27th win in his 28th televised meeting with Chizzy, with the St Helens man struggling to pressure Mighty Mike.
Two 12-darters helped the Dutchman into a 4-2 lead, including a 170 checkout, while another 12-darter made it 6-2 with a 141 finish.
Chisnall, without a televised title in his career, didn't hit his first 180 until the 12th leg but even then lost the leg to go 8-4 down.
Chisnall hit back to win three of the next five legs, before a 10-dart leg sealed the victory for van Gerwen, with the Green Machine averaging 100 to Chisnall's 93.
The 29-year-old hasn't lost any of his 23 consecutive matches against Chisnall, who lasted avoided defeat in a Premier League draw two years ago, and the only defeat he suffered on TV was back at the 2013 World Grand Prix.
(10) James Wade 11-9 (3) Peter Wright
James Wade made it through to his third final in his last six tournaments with an 11-9 win over Peter Wright.
The Machine's resurgence was marked by winning the European Championship and World Series at the end of last year in consecutive weekends, and again exhibited his ability to hold his nerve at key times as he beat Snakebite.
The Scot began a run of seven successive breaks of throw from 4-3 down, ending with his 100 finish to level the match at 7-7.
Wright hit back to back 13-darters to move 9-7 up, before Wade found a typical surge for the line to win four legs on the spin.
Wade, who averaged 94 compared to Wright's 98 and failed to hit a single 180, pinned 11 of his 19 darts at doubles in a tremendous display of finishing while his opponent missed 19 of his 28 attempts.
FINAL
(1) Michael van Gerwen 11-5 (10) James Wade
Michael van Gerwen made a dream start to the season by defeating James Wade 11-5 to win the Masters for the fifth year a row.
The newly-crowned three-time World Champion builds on the Ally Pally win with his 118th tournament win of his already illustrious career at only 29-years-old.
MvG followed up his 170 checkout against Dave Chisnall in the semi-final with another Big Fish finish against the Machine - one of three roof-raising 100+ checkouts - averaging near 100 to Wade's 87.
Van Gerwen threw first in the opening leg, and finished it in 13 darts, but missed five darts at double in the next to break, as Wade punished the misses before van Gerwen took out 124 on the bullseye to move ahead again.
Wade restored parity again with a 76 finish before another hold of throw saw van Gerwen take the lead with a 14-darter.
The Aldershot man took advantage of van Gerwen averaging in the mid-90s to level at 3-3, but Wade then missed three darts from 24 and van Gerwen pounced to pin tops for a 13-darter to lead 5-3.
Van Gerwen turned on the style with another 124 finish on the bull for a 12-darter, and another leg of four visits was finished with the 170 finish in the next to lead 7-3.
Wade won the next leg in 12 darts before van Gerwen won the next two, while three misses at 36 allowed Wade a chance to reduce the arrears which he took, before van Gerwen saw out the win.
He's now won 34 major PDC crowns and couldn't be in much more confident mood heading into the Premier League.
The only sign of weakness over his four matches this weekend was his finishing.
He missed 22 darts at doubles in his first-round win against Jonny Clayton on Friday, 21 in both his matches with Mensur Suljovic and Chisnall while he spurned 17 against Wade.
Tournament Stats
Averages
Suljovic - 100.81
Van Gerwen - 100.43
Smith - 98.06
Cross - 97.70
Chisnall - 96.68
Checkout Percentage
Suljovic - 48.39% (15/31)
Smith - 40% (16/40)
Wade - 38.30% (36/94)
Cullen - 37.21% (16/43)
Chisnall - 36% (27/75)
180s
Van Gerwen - 19
Chisnall - 17
Wright - 12
Wade - 11
Cullen - 9
Highest Checkout
Van Gerwen - 170 (x2)
Draw
(1) Michael van Gerwen (NED) 10-5
(8) Mensur Suljovic (AUT) 10-1
Stephen Bunting (ENG)* 10-9
(6) Michael Smith (ENG) 10-5
(3) Peter Wright (SCO) 10-9
=
(1) Michael van Gerwen (NED) 10-5
(12) Dave Chisnall (ENG) 10-4
=
(1) Michael van Gerwen (NED) 11-7
(10) James Wade (ENG) 11-9
=
(1) Michael van Gerwen (NED) 11-5
(5) Daryl Gurney 8-10 (12) Dave Chisnall
(8) Mensur Suljovic 10-1 (9) Simon Whitlock
Stephen Bunting 10-9 (13) Darren Webster
(1) Michael van Gerwen 10-5 (16) Jonny Clayton
Day Two Results and Report
(7) Gerwyn Price 7-10 (10) James Wade
(2) Rob Cross 6-10 (15) Joe Cullen
(6) Michael Smith 10-5 (11) Ian White
(3) Peter Wright 10-9 (14) Adrian Lewis
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