Grand Slam of Darts: Beau Greaves cruises to big win as Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall progress
Beau Greaves now has to beat Damon Heta on Monday to secure a spot in the knockout stages; Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Josh Rock have all qualified; Watch the 17th staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the WV Active Aldersley - live on Sky Sports
Sunday 12 November 2023 18:59, UK
Beau Greaves gave her chances of progressing to the round of 16 a huge boost with an impressive 5-1 victory over Ricardo Pietreczko in Group H at the Grand Slam of Darts.
Greaves stormed to a 3-0 lead as she continued to find maximums, Pietreczko claiming his only leg with a brilliant 118 finish to break the throw.
Despite the fightback, Greaves held her nerve and found 90 and 96 finishes to wrap up the final two legs for her first victory of the Grand Slam.
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"What a feeling; I can't really explain it - I'm so happy," said the 19-year-old from Doncaster, after becoming the third woman to taste victory in the Grand Slam.
"I've just been so relaxed and I've really enjoyed it, and that is when I play my best darts.
"I'm really looking forward to the game on Tuesday now. I've won a game at the Grand Slam, and nobody can take this away from me!"
Nathan Aspinall ensured his spot in the knockout rounds with a 5-2 win over Damon Heta in Group H.
After quickly taking a 4-0 lead, and brilliant 151 and 122 finishes giving the 'Asp' the control, Heta fought back to bring the game to 4-2.
Aspinall stood strong though and after missing four match darts, finally took the victory on D8.
The loss for Heta now means his clash on Monday with Greaves is set to be a winner-qualifies thriller.
In Group D, Gerwyn Price cruised to a near-perfect 5-0 victory over Ryan Searle to qualify for the round of 16.
Price was effortless on the trebles, a brilliant 121 checkout the highlight as he left Searle no opportunity to get into the contest.
"I felt good up there. I knew I was through with a win, which gave me that extra edge," revealed Price, who has claimed a hat-trick of titles in his four visits to the Aldersley venue.
"I was in the zone. I was putting Ryan under a lot of pressure which was a good feeling, but I didn't realise how well I was playing.
"I think that sends out a statement. The format gets longer in the knockout stage, but that's when I get better and better, so hopefully I can improve from here."
Josh Rock also secured his spot in the knockouts with a 5-1 routing of Jonny Clayton in Group B.
Clayton just couldn't find his rhythm in the clash and Rock took advantage, taking four legs in a row to seal top spot in the group.
Elsewhere, Danny Noppert made it two wins from two with a tough 5-3 win over Andrew Gilding in Group F.
Gilding took every chance on the doubles given to him, including a late break of throw, but Noppert held his nerve to take out 97 on tops and break the throw himself to take top spot in the group.
Nathan Rafferty got his campaign up and running in Group D with a 5-2 victory over Gian van Veen, two breaks of throw helping him on his way to the win.
Brendan Dolan registered his first victory of this year's tournament in a 5-2 contest against Haruki Muramatsu. Dolan battled hard for the win but a nice 121 checkout plus two breaks of throw proved the difference.
Chris Dobey held on to secure a 5-4 win in a last-leg decider against Berry van Peer in Group B.
Van Peer fought back from 3-1 down to bring the game level at 4-4, 104 and 110 checkouts aiding his campaign, but his accuracy on the doubles let him down, allowing Dobey to seal the deal.
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What happens on Monday & Tuesday at the Grand Slam?
The final round-robin games take place on Monday and Tuesday. The top two players from each group will progress to the knockout stage, with the last-16 action beginning on Wednesday and running through to the semi-finals and final on Sunday.
Watch the 17th staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the Aldersley Leisure Village. Stream your favourite sports and more with NOW
