Beaton returns to form with semi-final appearance

Beaton opened up by beating Mareno Michels 6-2 and then went on to overcome Chris Thompson (6-1), Colin Osborne (6-4), Wes Newton (6-3) and Jamie Caven (6-5) to reach the last four where he met Dave Chisnall.

Chisnall edged a close encounter 6-5 with a 14-dart finish in the final leg before going on to beat Phil Taylor by the same scoreline in the final.

Taylor had earlier hit his second nine-darter of the weekend with a 180, 180, 141 against Peter Hudson in the first round.

Beaton said: “My knee has healed well since my surgery at the end of last year and this is reflecting in my game, so here’s hoping to make the final next time.”

The previous day, Beaton beat Mark Dudbridge 6-2 in the first round before losing out in the deciding leg to Nick Fulwell.

Nigel Heydon had a disappointing weekend, bowing out in the first round on Saturday and then losing 6-1 to Ted Hankey in Sunday’s second round.