World Grand Prix on Tuesday: Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld
Coverage gets underway at 7pm on Sky Sports Action on Tuesday night
Wednesday 3 October 2018 12:19, UK
Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney and Raymond van Barneveld are all in action as the World Grand Prix second round gets underway on Tuesday.
After Rob Cross and Simon Whitlock crashed out of the bottom half of the draw on Monday night it is the turn of the top half to take centre stage once again, and it promises to be a mouthwatering evening after all eight delivered strong showings on Sunday's opening night.
Four of the quarter-final places at the Citywest Hotel will be decided on Tuesday night following four high-quality last-16 contests with the format now the best of five starts and a double required to both start and finish the leg.
World champion Rob Cross stunned by Steve Beaton in Dublin
Dave Chisnall (8) v Raymond van Barneveld
Chizzy is a former runner-up in Dublin, losing the 2013 final to Phil Taylor and winning just two legs in a 6-0 demolition.
The world No 8 has not been at his best in 2018 but as a quick player, the quickfire format can play into his hands if he finds his range early on.
Van Barneveld has not been known to dig deep too often of late but he did just that to snuff out a potential comeback from Rapid Ricky Evans on opening night - a dazzling 164 check-out has been one of the highlights of the tournament so far.
Barney told Sky Sports earlier this year he believes he still has a major in him and as a two-time runner-up in Dublin he may feel this represents one of his best chances
There is little in the head to head between the pair over the last couple of years, Chisnall has won four of the last seven including both Premier League meetings last year.
Verdict - Barney's consistency gets him over the line, he takes out Chizzy with a 3-1 victory.
Gary Anderson (4) v Jeffrey de Zwaan
The pair have played five times and Gary Anderson has won all on them, including four this year - but their semi-final contest at the World Matchplay will go down as one of the matches of the year.
De Zwaan came of age on the Blackpool stage and pushed Anderson all the way before eventually falling to a 17-12 as The Flying Scotsman went on to claim the Phil Taylor Trophy.
Both men impressed in their opening contest, De Zwaan was too strong for Joe Cullen while Anderson continued his serene form with a 2-0 win over Jonny Clayton.
The Scot has already picked up the UK Open, the Matchplay and the Champions League this year but has never won the Grand Prix crown, losing in the final to Michael van Gerwen a couple of years ago.
Verdict - Potential to be the match of the night and if Anderson struggles on his opening doubles De Zwaan could cause a surprise. But Anderson is a classy operator and is winning even when he is not playing well, 3-0 to Anderson but it's not all plain sailing
World Grand Prix Results, Draw & Schedule
Daryl Gurney (5) v Ron Meulenkamp
Superchin looked like he was getting back to his best with a dominant victory against John Henderson in what could have been a tricky first-round encounter.
Gurney's run to the title last year had been coming after a superb run of form in the major events but this year has not quite been the same as he has had to come to terms with the demands of the Premier League as well as being a father.
Meulenkamp is one of three Dutchmen who have marked their Grand Prix debuts with a first-round win and has a victory over Gurney under his belt already this year at the European Darts Open - admittedly his only win from four previous encounters between the pair.
The Dutchman, nicknamed The Bomb, has lost weight in his attempt to climb the PDC rankings and looked good in seeing off in-form Joe Cullen in round one but Gurney is a different proposition.
Verdict - Gurney is inspired by the scene of his major title but is forced to dig deep for a hard-fought 3-1 victory over debutant Meulekamp
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Darren Webster
The world No 1 has won 15 of the 16 matches that the two have played including three this year but the Demolition man has a habit of making things awkward for Mighty Mike.
Webster has been within one and two legs of Van Gerwen in their last two meetings and produced one of the best performances of the opening night, averaging just under 100 to dispatch Stephen Bunting.
But as is the case with MVG, when it matters most the Dutchman has delivered and the bottom line is he has lost just once to Webster.
Much has been made of Van Gerwen's first-round defeat to John Henderson last year but he is also a three-time Grand Prix champion and has won every other year at the Citywest since capturing his first major title in Dublin in 2012.
Verdict - Van Gerwen looks in the mood and means business this week, Webster is no match over set play as the Green Machine storms to a 3-0 victory
Coverage continues from 7pm on Sky Sports Action on Tuesday night with four second-round matches
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