European Championship: Whitlock Edged Out By Anderson

2015 UNIBET EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (NOTE TO MEDIA IN NETHERLANDS;PLEASE REFER TO AS;2015 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP) ETHIAS ARENA,HASSELT,BELGIUM PIC;LAWRENCE LUSTIG ROUND1 SIMON WHITLOCK V MAGNUS CARIS SIMON WHITLOCK IN ACTION

Simon Whitlock missed out on a place in the quarter-finals of the European Championship after a narrow defeat to World Champion Gary Anderson.

Whitlock had moved into the second round of the European Darts Championship with a comfortable victory over Magnus Caris in Belgium on Friday.

But the 2012 champion was denied further progression despite a gallant fight against world number two Anderson.

‘The Wizard’ led two-nil but his opponent won three legs on the spin to edged ahead.

Whitlock tied up at five apiece as the pair traded 180s but clinical finishes of 105 and 101 helped Anderson move a break ahead.

And the Scotsman completed a 10-8 win with a 136 checkout.

The signs of a return to form were encouraging for Whitlock ahead of the World Series of Darts Finals, Players Championship Finals and World Championship.