Barney eases into last 16

Raymond van Barneveld moved into the final 16 at the Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-2 victory over Dennis Priestley.

Raymond van Barneveld served notice that he will take some stopping at the Grand Slam of Darts as he moved into the final 16 with a 5-2 victory over Dennis Priestley. Despite two wins in his opening two games, the world champion was not assured of his place in the second round before Monday night's action in Wolverhampton. However, he ensured he would be staying on with an assured display to get the better of Priestley. 'The Menace', who revealed recently he is fighting prostate cancer, made a fast start to the contest and moved 2-1 ahead with some typically precise darts. But van Barneveld then hit his stride and reeled off four legs in explosive fashion to secure his passage and eliminate his opponent who had needed a 5-3 win or better to grab a play-off or last-16 place. "I hate it when you're having to count how many legs you have to get to win, but I had to focus on winning the game," said Van Barneveld who now faces Terry Jenkins in the knock-out stages. "Dennis is a fantastic player and he had a 102 average and only won two legs. He put me under extreme pressure. "I'm glad to finish such a tough group with three wins and I can look forward to the second round now." Priestley, meanwhile, added: "With Chris (Mason) losing 5-0 it left me with a mountain to climb and to be honest it was never going to be on. "If I'd hit the doubles as cleanly as Raymond I'd have been okay, but I didn't take them and that's why he's a world champion. "Overall on the three games, it is the three darts I missed against Adrian Lewis [who won 5-4] which decided it." Earlier, Lewis had ruthlessly whitewashed an out-of-sorts Chris Mason 5-0 as to book a last 16 clash with Andy Hamilton. Hamilton maintained his 100 percent record in Group B with a 5-3 win over Charles Losper. In the shoot-out for the remaining qualifying spot, Terry Jenkins overcame Dutchman Vincent van der Voort 5-2 to move on. After a tight start to the encounter, Jenkins gained a crucial break to move 3-2 up and, having appeared to break his opponent's spirit, reeled off two more legs to emerge victorious. James Wade finished the group stage with a perfect record following an emphatic 5-1 win over Niel de Ruiter and now faces Kevin McDine. Jelle Klaasan, already qualified for the next phase, lost his unbeaten record as Peter Manley fought back to beat him, but it was something of a hollow triumph for 'One Dart' who was already out of the competition. It was youngster McDine who joined Klaasen in the next round from Group D as he produced some superb darts to defeat the more experienced Shaun Greatbatch 5-1. However, arguably the most remarkable display of the evening came from Australian Pat Orreal who came from 4-0 down to defeat Phill Nixon and book his place in the last 16. Orreal looked dead and buried as his opponent steamed four clear in a scrappy encounter, but, having regrouped in the break, embarked on an epic recovery. Nixon missed eight darts to win the match and then looked on in disappointment as Orreal landed double seven to clinch a showdown with Klaasen in next round.