Taylor-made win for Power

Jenkins battles back to stun Dutchman, Eccles beaten by Beaton

Last updated: 29th January 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Taylor-made win for Power

Taylor: Cruised through

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Phil Taylor began the defence of his Players Championship title with a comfortable 6-2 victory over Peter Manley.

'The Power' failed to hit top form but still cruised through to the last 16 at the Circus Tavern, where he will face Terry Jenkins next.

A whitewash looked on the cards for Taylor when, helped by two early maximums, he eased into a 4-0 lead in the best-of-11 legs contest.

Having missed three darts to take the fourth leg, Manley finally got off the mark in the fifth when he hit double eight. He then pegged it back to 4-2 by taking the next, though that was as close as he got to causing an upset.

Shoot-out

Jenkins had to work a little harder in his opening match, edging out Vincent van der Voort in a deciding leg shoot-out.

An early exit looked on the cards for 'The Bull' when he trailed the Dutchman 5-3 but he rallied in impressive fashion, taking the last three legs on the spin.

After a sluggish start that saw him miss six attempts at doubles, Jenkins hit a 10-darter to win the ninth leg to spark his dramatic comeback.

The opening contest of the night had also gone down to the wire, with Colin Lloyd eventually seeing off Denis Ovens 6-5.

'Jaws' was given a let-off when 4-3 down as Ovens missed three darts at double 16 to move two legs clear. Lloyd certainly made the most of the repreive, going on to take the deciding leg at a canter.

Classy Beaton

There was no such worries for Steve Beaton, who raced into a 5-0 lead before eventually sealing a 6-2 result against Tony Eccles.

Debutant Paul Nicholson, who made an instant impression in the event by wearing a red tie on the oche, won by the same score against Dennis Priestley, booking a showdown with Beaton in the process.

Andy Hamilton made the most of Alan Tabern's finishing problems to triumph 6-4 against his fellow Englishman, and he now faces fellow Stoke thrower Adrian Lewis.

Adrian Lewis set up the showdown as he held off a superb comeback from Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan, who hit back from 3-1 down to force a deciding leg.

Kevin Painter also progressed, as 'The Artist' put paid to any hopes Robert Thornton had of reaching the final for a second successive year by cruising to a 6-3 win over the Scotsman.