Grand Slam of Darts: James Wade, Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright qualify
Friday 14 November 2014 14:19, UK
James Wade booked his place in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-1 victory over Tony O’Shea at Wolves Civic.
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The winner of the Group G clash was guaranteed a place in the second round and it was Masters champion Wade who eased through with a 99.95 average after racing into a 4-0 lead.
"After I lost on Sunday I thought I'd blown my chance so I'm relieved to have got through," said Wade. "I grew up being beaten by players like Tony so I was very nervous."
He will now face Stephen Bunting on Thursday after the Lakeside champion maintained his 100 per cent record to top Group H with a 5-2 defeat of the winless Dean Winstanley.
"My performances have been really good and I've got to be happy with another win," said Bunting.
"I know that if I'm playing my game then I can beat anyone and I'm enjoying my darts at the moment."
Mervyn King also notched his third successive win thanks to a 12-darter in the deciding set as he edged out Jamie Caven 5-4.
King’s reward for topping Group G is a clash with Group H runner-up Gary Anderson, who whitewashed Dutchman Wesley Harms 5-0 in his must-win final group match.
Anderson's win came in 73 darts and eight minutes and 40 seconds. He hit five 180s, including two in an 11-darter in the fifth leg.
"Wesley's a quick player and I was able to get into a good rhythm, and I got on a roll. Mervyn's the same so hopefully it will be a heavy-scoring game and it will be a good game," said Anderson.
Phil Taylor needed to win only one leg in his final Group E match against Andy Hamilton to progress and he did that with a 107 finish in the opening leg before going on to complete a 5-3 victory to maintain his unbeaten record.
Taylor, who averaged 106.47, hitting four 180s and five doubles from nine attempts, said: "I'm really pleased to get through and I can relax now because it's a longer format and it's knockout from here onwards."
Hamilton’s defeat allowed Dutchman Christian Kist to take second place in the group thanks to a 5-1 rout of Richie George.
Kist now faces Michael Smith who topped Group F in style with a 5-1 defeat of Brendan Dolan with a 102.71 average.
Peter Wright snatched second spot in Group F and set up a clash with Taylor after winning his showdown with Australia’s Simon Whitlock 5-3.
"It was nerve-wracking," admitted Wright, who was 2-1 down before taking four of the next five legs. "I've got to much respect for Simon so I'm really happy with the win."
