Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor get Grand Slam of Darts second round underway
All the action live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm
Thursday 17 November 2016 16:44, UK
Michael van Gerwen's meeting with Robert Thornton is the highlight of a star-studded Wednesday night as the Grand Slam of Darts second round gets underway.
After four days of group stage drama, 32 competitors have been whittled down to 16 with the next stage of the tournament taking place on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
Of the eight BDO players who qualified five are remaining in the event that pits the best of darts two organisations against each other.
Martin Adams, Scott Mitchell and former Grand Slam winner Scott Waites all crashed out in the group stages - Glen Durrant, Darryl Fitton, Jamie Hughes, Danny Noppert and Jeff Smith remain as the BDO look to win the event for just the second time.
After a race to five legs in the group matches, the second round turns into a best of 19 contest with the first man to 10 legs making it through to Friday's quarter-final stage.
Topping the bill at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Wednesday night is world No 1 Van Gerwen, who is red hot favourite to defend the title he won for the first time last year.
The Dutchman has won 23 times on tour this year including the UK Open, Premier League, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix and in Robert Thornton he faces a revitalised opponent who doesn't have to look too far back for a high-profile win over Van Gerwen.
The Scot beat Van Gerwen to claim the Grand Prix title in Dublin last year but since that title The Thorn has suffered a string of early tournament exits and an eighth place finish in the Premier League but he has shown glimpses of the form that has made him a two-time major winner.
Van Gerwen claimed all three group games for the loss of just four legs, while Thornton needed a nine-leg shoot-out against Dimitri van den Bergh to progress having lost to Gerwyn Price after victories in his opening two matches.
Also in action on Wednesday is Phil Taylor, the 16 time world champion showed that he is getting back to his best with victory in the Champions League of Darts and has his sights set an another big title.
Sky Sports expert Wayne Mardle believes the leg format suits Taylor better than a sets format as there are less 'pressure darts'.
That will be put to the test against 2016 BDO runner-up Jeff Smith, who beat Simon Whitlock on Wednesday to clinch his place in the last 16.
Taylor was beaten 5-0 by Darren Webster in the final match of his group and having won his opening fixtures in routine fashion it remains to be seen whether that defeat to the 'Demolition Man' was just a blip.
Potential for match of the night comes in the final game of the evening when Peter 'Snakebite' Wright continues his quest for a maiden major televised title against another BDO representative, the experienced Darryl Fitton.
After losing to the Power in his opening group game. Fitton rallied to beat both Webster and Ian White 5-4 to quality for the second round and he will look to emulate the quarter-final place he made on his debut in 2008 to mark a memorable return to the event he has missed for each of the last five years.
Kicking off the second-round action will be the clash between Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan and Welshman Gerwyn Price.
Dolan beat Martin Wolfie Adams to secure his place in the knockout stages, while Price ended up topping his standings after a 5-3 win over Thornton on Wednesday night.
Watch Wednesday night's matches at the Grand Slam of Darts from 7pm on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports Darts returns on December 12 with the World Championship underway from Deceember 15. #LoveTheDarts
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