|
 FAVOURITES Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld made strong starts to the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts in the opening day of group matches at the Wolverhampton Civic.
The inaugural event began with the opening 16 first round games in front of the ITV Sport cameras, with van Barneveld producing the day's most impressive display.
The five-time World Champion hit five successive doubles in a flawless performance to come from 2-0 down against Chris Mason to win 5-2.
The Dutchman will now meet Adrian Lewis on Sunday, following the Stoke youngster's dramatic 5-4 win over veteran Dennis Priestley.
Taylor, meanwhile, reeled off four straight legs in coming from 2-1 down to defeat Wayne Mardle 5-2 in Group E.
Taylor's second round robin clash will see him meet Colin Lloyd on Sunday afternoon, with the former world number one averaging almost 100 in overcoming Ronnie Baxter 5-3.
Number three seed Gary Anderson suffered a shock 5-1 loss to Kevin Painter, who only booked his place in the tournament a week ago through the PDC Order of Merit but was in superb form.
Painter's second match will see him open Sunday's play against Welshman Barrie Bates, who defeated Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones 5-1.
James Wade suffered a scare against Phill Nixon before emerging a 5-4 victor, and he will take on Australia's Pat Orreal on Sunday.
Orreal stunned Holland's Niels de Ruiter 5-1 in his debut on the big stage, while Kevin McDine was another newcomer to the TV spotlight who shone with a 5-2 victory against Peter Manley, which included a 161 finish.
McDine now meets Jelle Klaasen in the second phase of round robin matches, with the former World Champion a 5-1 winner against Shaun Greatbatch in the tournament's opening game.
Andy Jenkins and Gary Mawson kicked off their challenge in Group F with impressive wins against Mark Webster and John Part.
Terry Jenkins and Andy Hamilton were Group B winners, while Dutchmen Roland Scholten and Michael van Gerwen were the Group H victors, in close games against Mervyn King and Scott Waites.
PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts
Saturday 17 November
First Round – First Group Games
Group A
Raymond van Barneveld 5-3 Chris Mason
Adrian Lewis 5-4 Dennis Priestley
Group B
Andy Hamilton 5-3 Vincent van der Voort
Terry Jenkins 5-2 Charles Losper
Group C
James Wade 5-4 Phill Nixon
Pat Orreal 5-1 Niels de Ruiter
Group D
Jelle Klaasen 5-1 Shaun Greatbatch
Kevin McDine 5-2 Peter Manley
Group E
Phil Taylor 5-2 Wayne Mardle
Colin Lloyd 5-3 Ronnie Baxter
Group F
Andy Jenkins 5-1 Mark Webster
Gary Mawson 5-2 John Part
Group G
Kevin Painter 5-1 Gary Anderson
Barrie Bates 5-1 Wayne Jones
Group H
Michael van Gerwen 5-4 Scott Waites
Roland Scholten 5-3 Mervyn King
Sunday 18 November
First Round – Second Group Games
Afternoon Session
12.45pm Start
Kevin Painter v Barrie Bates
Scott Waites v Mervyn King
Mark Webster v John Part
Jelle Klaasen v Kevin McDine
Andy Hamilton v Terry Jenkins
James Wade v Pat Orreal
Phil Taylor v Colin Lloyd
Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis
Evening Session
7.15pm Start
Shaun Greatbatch v Peter Manley
Vincent van der Voort v Charles Losper
Phill Nixon v Niels de Ruiter
Andy Jenkins v Gary Mawson
Michael van Gerwen v Roland Scholten
Chris Mason v Dennis Priestley
Gary Anderson v Wayne Jones
Wayne Mardle v Ronnie Baxter
EVENING SESSION REPORTS
TERRY JENKINS 5-2 CHARLES LOSPER
NUMBER eight seed Terry Jenkins made a winning start to the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-2 win against South Africa's Charles Losper.
Jenkins put himself in command early in the contest, taking a 2-0 lead with a two-dart 64 finish and a 121 checkout on the bullseye, with his opponent sat on a double.
Emperors Palace South African Open winner Losper got off the mark by taking leg three against the throw on double 12.
Jenkins landed his first maximum on the way to leg four, and extending his lead to 4-1 in the next, with Losper sat waiting on double top.
Jenkins missed double 19 for a 155 finish and the match in the next, with the South African taking out double 16 to stay alive.
However, it was short-lived respite as Jenkins wrapped up the win on double 16.
"I knew Charles was a good player and he did very well," said Jenkins. "He played as I expected him to, but it isn't easy being the favourite and I'm pleased with that."
PAT ORREAL 5-1 NIELS DE RUITER
AUSTRALIAN Pat Orreal celebrated his debut on the televised stage in style with a 5-1 victory against Niels de Ruiter.
The Australian Open runner-up was a late replacement for Glenn Power in the tournament, but showed his quality to see off the young Dutchman.
De Ruiter never got into his stride and was out-scored by Orreal, who took a 3-0 lead early on.
Orreal took the first leg in 15 darts, landing a nerve-settling 180 along the way, and then won two more legs before a 98 finish saw de Ruiter get off the mark in leg four.
An 82 finish on double top put Orreal within a leg of victory, and two 140s edged him clear in the next before he took out double five for the win.
"I'm delighted with that," said Orreal. "The darts weren't my best, but it's a win."
ADRIAN LEWIS 5-4 DENNIS PRIESTLEY
ADRIAN LEWIS defied a bout of double trouble to edge past Dennis Priestley in a dramatic decider to their Group A clash at the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts.
The 21-year-old thought that his chance for victory had passed him by when he missed ten darts for a 5-3 win against the double World Champion.
Priestley took that eighth leg and then led comfortably in the decider, only to miss four darts for the win before Lewis took out 100 to snatch the two points and silence a partisan crowd.
"I'm happy that I pulled through," said Lewis. "I was relieved to get the 100 finish at the end, I hit treble one but knew the treble 19 was going in and then I had to hit double top."
Lewis started in fine fettle, hitting a 150 finish in leg one and taking out double top in the second, although a missed dart for the bullseye in the next allowed Priestley to get off the mark.
Priestley also opened leg four with a 180, but any hopes of levelling were dashed when Lewis landed double eight to move 3-1 up.
A two-dart 88 finish saw the veteran Yorkshireman cut the gap to 3-2, but double nine put Lewis to the brink of victory.
Priestley landed a third maximum on his way to taking leg seven, but a first 180 of the game from Lewis in the next gave him the advantage.
However, he was unable to wrap up the win, missing ten darts for the win, including seven at double five before Priestley hit the same bed to square the game for the first time.
But the 57-year-old saw his own chance to snatch the win pass him by before Lewis hit a makeshift 100 finish - of treble one, treble 19 and double top - for the win.
"I think it was a fair result to be honest," said Priestley, who announced last week that he is suffering from prostate cancer.
"It's nice to have the support but it's not easy to deal with it, and I felt for Adrian that the majority of the support was behind me, perhaps because of my health situation.
"I'd have loved to have sneaked off with the win but I had my chance. Adrian took out a fantastic finish in the first leg and he deserved the win."
KEVIN McDINE 5-2 PETER MANLEY
KEVIN McDINE made a tremendous big-stage debut to defeat Peter Manley 5-2 in the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts.
The 22-year-old ITV Wildcard Qualifier showed no nerves in front of the ITV cameras with an assured display to see off the former world number one.
Manley won the game's opening leg, after McDine missed three darts at a double, but the youngster never looked back after taking out a 161 finish in the second - which puts him in line for a £3,000 bonus as the tournament's current high checkout.
That was the last thing on his mind as he took the next two legs to lead 3-1 before missing the bullseye for an even more spectacular 170 finish, with Manley stepping in to take leg five.
However, a fine 12-darter put McDine 4-2 up and he then took out 108 on double 16 to seal the win.
"It was awesome," said McDine. "It was a great game, unbelievable and a brilliant buzz.
"The way I played was awesome and the 161 finish was great."
COLIN LLOYD 5-3 RONNIE BAXTER
COLIN LLOYD came from behind to see off Ronnie Baxter 5-3 in their first group game at the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts.
Lloyd found himself 2-0 down early in the contest, with Baxter storming out of the blocks to hit a maximum in the opening leg and punish his opponent's missed doubles to move ahead.
Lloyd took out double eight to get off the mark in the third, and then took the next two legs either side of the break to move ahead.
Baxter levelled, despite another maximum from Lloyd leaving him a finish, but a strong seventh leg from the former world number one put him 4-3 up.
Lloyd kicked off the next leg with another 180 and left himself 40 after 12 darts, with Baxter's missed bullseye for a 121 finish allowing him back to seal the win on double top.
ROLAND SCHOLTEN 5-3 MERVYN KING
ROLAND SCHOLTEN made a brilliant start to the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-3 defeat of Mervyn King in a thriller.
The duo traded heavy scores throughout a tight contest, with King looking set to send the match into a deciding leg before a brilliant 144 checkout from the Dutchman saw him snatch the win.
There was little between the duo from the off, with King taking leg one before a 100 finish saw Scholten take the second, before they traded 180s in the third.
It was Scholten who was first to the finish, and he took out 82 in two darts to lead.
A 14-darter from King saw him level and the next two legs were shared to leave the scores tied at three-all with both players averaging over 100.
Further 180s from the duo saw the high scoring continue in leg seven, but King's missed bullseye for a 127 finish to allow Scholten to land double 18 and move back in front.
King also gave himself one dart at double top in leg eight, but his miss allowed Scholten to return, and the 2004 UK Open winner hit two treble 20s and double 12 for a 144 finish and the win.
GARY MAWSON 5-2 JOHN PART
GARY MAWSON won the north American battle with John Part 5-2 to make a fine start to the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts.
Mawson showed glimpses of the form which saw him reach the quarter-finals at the Las Vegas Desert Classic this year with some classy finishing to defeat the former World Champion.
He stepped in to steal the first let on double top after Part missed a host of doubles, although the Canadian number one hit back with a 126 finish on the bullseye.
Mawson landed a 180 on the way to the third leg, before Part levelled at two-all in the next.
Mawson hit another maximum in winning the fifth, and then took a 4-2 lead on double 16.
He then wrapped up the win on double eight, having also narrowly missed the bullseye for a 170 finish which would have been the highest of the tournament so far.
BARRIE BATES 5-1 WAYNE JONES
BARRIE BATES made light work of home favourite Wayne Jones with a 5-1 victory in their Group G opener at the PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts.
The Welshman dropped just one leg and took out a 123 finish for a victory which earns him a clash on Sunday against Kevin Painter.
Jones took the game's opening leg on double 18, but never got into his stride and was give few chances after missed doubles allowed Bates to win the next two legs.
The Welshman landed double top twice in moving 4-1 up, and then sealed the win with a superb 123 checkout on the bullseye. |