Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson, James Wade, Peter Wright & Benito van de Pas sealed their spots in the knockout phase of the Grand Slam of Darts, whilst Raymond van Barneveld continued his rampant form in an eventful double-session of action at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Sunday.
Defending champion Michael van Gerwen is all but through to the second round after easing past Brendan Dolan 5-1 on Sunday evening. ‘The Green Machine’ was in sparkling form and averaged 104.5 to dismantle ‘The Historymaker’, and MvG requires just one leg against Max Hopp to confirm his place in the knockout phase.
Six-time Grand Slam winner Phil Taylor secured his place in the knockout phase with an emphatic 5-1 victory over an off-colour Ian White. Taylor was far from his best, averaging a miserly 92.94 by his incredibly high standards. Yet White was extremely poor, averaging just 84 and converting 20% of his double attempts.
World champion Gary Anderson is through to the last 16 of the Grand Slam after whitewashing Nathan Derry on Sunday evening. Derry was unable to replicate the performance that saw him defeat Alan Norris, as Anderson eased to a 5-0 victory despite averaging just 89.5 and hitting 23% of his double attempts.
Also in Group E, BDO world number one Glen Durrant kept his qualification hopes firmly alive with a mightily impressive 5-1 victory over Alan Norris. ‘Chuck’ won the opening leg but Durrant then reeled off five successive legs, aided by clinical 115 and 120 finishes, to round off a fine performance and finish with a 94.87 average.
Peter Wright booked his place in the second-round with a stunning whitewash victory over Simon Whitlock. Snakebite was in sensational form, averaging 116 until the final leg, but he still completed the whitewash with a 107.3 average, as Whitlock capitulated after a costly lapse in the second leg.
Raymond van Barneveld produced another majestic display to move closer towards securing a spot in the last 16 knockout phase. Van Barneveld averaged 104.66 to defeat his young compatriot Danny Noppert in a thrilling affair, with the BDO world number three averaging an impressive 103.88 himself.
However, the five-time world champion and 2012 Grand Slam winner produced moments of magic at the decisive junctures of the contest. Barney posted four maximums and converted finishes of 108, 81, 106 and 96 to register a fine 5-2 victory.
Also in Group F, Mensur Suljovic survived a major scare as he returned to winning ways by overcoming an impressive Nathan Aspinall. Aspinall stormed into a 2-0 lead with finishes of 128 and 137, before moving 3-1 ahead. Nevertheless Suljovic rallied superbly, reeling off four straight legs to complete the comeback with an average of 99.
Benito van de Pas booked his spot in the knockout phases on his Grand Slam debut with a thumping 5-1 win against Scott Mitchell. Mitchell averaged 107 in thrashing Adrian Lewis on Saturday, but averaged over 24 points lower against ‘Big Ben’, who performed superbly and threatened a 9-darter, hitting seven perfect darts in leg two.
Also in Group H, Adrian Lewis was eliminated after suffering a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Chris Dobey in a high-quality affair. Lewis averaged 108.68 and posted three maximums, but he was punished for an indifferent 25% checkout ratio, as Dobey averaged 97.42, hit four maximums and converted 50% of his double attempts to triumph.
Martin Adams faces an uphill task to qualify for the second-round after he was beaten 5-3 by World Youth finalist Max Hopp in Group A. ‘Wolfie’ struggled for large periods of the contest, despite pinning brilliant 103 and 156 checkouts. However, Hopp dominated the scoring stakes and eventually triumphed with a modest 86.46 average.
Darryl Fitton remained in contention to qualify for the knockout stages with a nail-biting deciding leg win against Darren Webster. The BDO World Trophy winner trailed 2-0 but fought back valiantly, hitting three maximums and closing out victory with a quality 14-darter in the decider.
James Wade has confirmed his place in the knockout phase after a hard-fought 5-3 win against James Wilson. Wilson capitalised on missed doubles from ‘The Machine’ to establish a 2-0 cushion, but Wade launched a valiant comeback for the second day in succession, clinching the win with a majestic 157 checkout.
Jamie Hughes produced the performance of the day to dump out former finalist Dave Chisnall courtesy of a 5-1 victory. The BDO world number four was in inspired mood, averaging 106.32 and landing three maximums to keep his qualification hopes alive, as Chisnall was left helpless despite averaging over 102 himself.
Robert Thornton overturned a 3-0 deficit to edge out Dimitri van den Bergh and make it two wins from two in Group B. The young Belgian started imperiously and led 3-0, aided by a classy 127 checkout. However, Thornton fought back and profited from Van den Bergh missing two match darts in the decider to seal victory with a 96.9 average.
Former winner Scott Waites’ hopes of qualifying are all but over after he suffered a 5-2 defeat to Gerwyn Price in an extremely scrappy contest. The Lakeside champion endured a nightmare on the doubles, hitting just two of his eighteen double attempts, as Price ran out a 5-2 victor despite averaging a miserly 84.46.
Jeff Smith kept his qualification hopes alive with a hard-fought deciding leg victory over Ted Evetts. The first eight legs all went with throw and Evetts had the advantage of throw in the decider, but last year’s Lakeside finalist clinically converted a 76 finish in 15 darts to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Simon Whitlock on Tuesday.
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts
Sunday November 13
Afternoon Session
Ted Evetts 4-5 Jeff Smith (C)
Mensur Suljovic 5-3 Nathan Aspinall (F)
Gerwyn Price 5-2 Scott Waites (B)
Dave Chisnall 1-5 Jamie Hughes (G)
Robert Thornton 5-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh (B)
James Wade 5-3 James Wilson (G)
Raymond van Barneveld 5-2 Danny Noppert (F)
Peter Wright 5-0 Simon Whitlock (C)
Evening Session
Darren Webster 4-5 Daryl Fitton (D)
Adrian Lewis 3-5 Chris Dobey (H)
Alan Norris 1-5 Glen Durrant (E)
Max Hopp 5-3 Martin Adams (A)
Phil Taylor 5-1 Ian White (D)
Gary Anderson 5-0 Nathan Derry (E)
Michael van Gerwen 5-1 Brendan Dolan (A)
Benito van de Pas 5-1 Scott Mitchell (H)
LEAGUE TABLES – as it stands
GROUP A
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Michael van Gerwen | 2 | 2 | 0 | +7 | 4 |
| Max Hopp | 2 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 |
| Brendan Dolan | 2 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
| Martin Adams | 2 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
GROUP B
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Robert Thornton | 2 | 2 | 0 | +3 | 4 |
| Gerwyn Price | 2 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Scott Waites | 2 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
GROUP C
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Peter Wright (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | +9 | 4 |
| Simon Whitlock | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| Jeff Smith | 2 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
| Ted Evetts (E) | 2 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
GROUP D
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Phil Taylor (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | +8 | 4 |
| Ian White | 2 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
| Darryl Fitton | 2 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
| Darren Webster (E) | 2 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 |
GROUP E
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Gary Anderson (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | +6 | 4 |
| Glen Durrant | 2 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 2 |
| Nathan Derry | 2 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 2 |
| Alan Norris | 2 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
GROUP F
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 2 | 2 | 0 | +7 | 4 |
| Mensur Suljovic | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Danny Noppert | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| Nathan Aspinall | 2 | 0 | 2 | -6 | 0 |
GROUP G
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| James Wade (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | +4 | 4 |
| Jamie Hughes | 2 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 |
| James Wilson | 2 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 |
| Dave Chisnall (E) | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 0 |
GROUP H
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Benito van de Pas | 2 | 2 | 0 | +5 | 4 |
| Chris Dobey | 2 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 |
| Scott Mitchell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Adrian Lewis | 2 | 0 | 2 | -6 | 0 |
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