James Wade books second round clash with The King
Published:The Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts is starting to take shape after groups A-D reached their completion last night.
Robert Thornton – who had already qualified – swept aside Simon Whitlock 5-2 to complete a clean sweep of victories. His 100 per cent record was matched by Mervyn King and Tony O’Shea who saw off John Henderson and Justin Pipe respectively.
Things weren’t quite so straightforward for 7/1 third favourite in the darts betting Gary Anderson. He lost 5-3 to Mark Webster, but still topped Group B thanks to winning four legs more than second placed Wayne Jones who made it to the second round with a 5-3 win against Mark Hylton.
The biggest game of the evening saw England’s James Wade face off against Holland’s Vincent van der Voort. Wade raced to a 4-1 lead but Van der Voort levelled at 4-4 before Wade came through to win with a 122 check out.
Wade’s win has set up an intriguing second round game with King tomorrow night. King has been solid throughout the tournament so far and is at 20/1 in the darts betting. However, the Ipswich player admitted he is still struggling with form following the death of his father.
Colin Osborne and Terry Jenkins were the other qualifiers from the top half of the draw and will face Anderson and O’Shea respectively.
Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts second round draw – Groups A-D
Robert Thornton v Wayne Jones
Tony O’Shea v Terry Jenkins
Gary Anderson v Colin Osborne
Mervyn King v James Wade
Who do you think will come out on top? Click here for the full Ladbrokes darts betting market.
