Taylor through despite loss

Van Barneveld also advances in defeat at the Grand Slam

Last updated: 21st November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Taylor through despite loss

Taylor: 5-1 defeat

He is one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet in our game. There are some idiots in our game - but he's not one of them.

Phil Taylor
Quotes of the week

Tuesday results:
D Fitton 5-4 M King
V Van der Voort 5-1 P Taylor
K Painter 5-0 F Hoenselaar
T O'Shea 5-2 C Lloyd
K Shepherd 5-3 S Maish
J Part 5-4 R van Barneveld
M Webster 5-2 A Dobromyslova
B Woods 5-4 C Osborne

Also see

John Part averaged 100.38 to beat Raymond van Barneveld 5-4 at the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts - but it was not enough to keep the Canadian in the tournament.

Part required a 5-2 win to progress and although he did not manage that, he at least signed off his Group D campaign in Wolverhampton on a positive note.

Van Barneveld, who hit six maximums and finished with a 99.38 average in a high-quality contest, battled into a 4-3 lead.

But Part broke the Dutchman's throw to force a decider and then checked out 102 to complete a stunning comeback.

Kevin Painter had earlier secured top spot in Group D with a 5-0 demolition of Francis Hoenselaar.

Power cut

Vincent van der Voort recovered from his loss to Anastasia Dobromyslova on Sunday to claim the scalp of top seed Phil Taylor.

Although the Dutchman's 5-1 victory failed to prevent him exiting the tournament - or Taylor topping Group A - it went some way to restoring his dented pride.

"I played the worst game of my life two days ago...and two days later I'm smiling again," said Van der Voort. "It shows how fast things can change.

Taylor, whose 90.20 average was his lowest in a televised match since 1998, was typically gracious in defeat.

"Tonight Vincent was a world beater - fair play," said the 14-time world champion.

"He is one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet in our game. There are some idiots in our game - but he's not one of them.

"On the circuit now, Vincent is without doubt the strongest player in the Dutch (contingent)."

Dobromyslova's final game against Mark Webster was a straight shoot-out for a spot in the last 16.

The Russian was on course to pull off another shock after opening a 2-1 lead over a nervy Webster.

But the Denbigh left-hander regrouped to reel off four straight legs and secure second position in Group A, ending Dobromyslova's dream in the process.

Perfect record

Tony O'Shea notched his third straight victory to finish top of Group B with a 100 percent record.

The Stockport right-hander opened a 4-0 advantage against Colin Lloyd but briefly stuttered with the winning line in sight.

Lloyd pulled back to 4-2 before O'Shea closed out the result on double 16 in the seventh leg.

Colin Osborne surrendered a 4-1 lead to lose 5-4 to Brian Woods in the final game of the evening.

The result handed second spot in Group B to Lloyd and eliminated Osborne from the tournament.

Kirk Shepherd booked his place in the knockout phase with a fine comeback against Steve Maish.

Shepherd recovered from 2-0 down to claim a 5-3 success, highlighted by a 145 checkout in the fourth leg.

The win saw the Kent thrower finish second in Group C behind Mervyn King, who topped the standings despite a 5-4 defeat to Daryl Fitton in his final match.