Grand Slam Accumulator: Local lad Jones heads up 18/1 shot

After succumbing to a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Christian Kist in match one, Wayne Jones faces a must-win encounter with Mark Walsh to keep his hopes alive in this year’s Grand Slam of Darts.

The Wolverhampton native is a 6/5 underdog to get the win he needs in front of his home crowd and he heads up our fivefold that pays out just shy of 18/1.

Wayne Jones to beat Mark Walsh @ 6/5

This game won’t be an easy one for Jones, that’s for sure. Walsh is a consistent performer whose slow-scoring can often perturb the more fleet of hand.

The Wanderer doesn’t fall into this bracket, however, nor his next adversary of the calibre you need to churn out a 9.5/10 performance against to beat. Walshy’s lost five of his last seven and Jones should prevail with the support of the home crowd spurring him on.

Gary Anderson to beat Tony O’Shea @ 1/2

The Silverback produced the shock of the tournament so far when he overcame Adrian Lewis in his opening group game, which means he’ll come into this clash with Anderson riding high.

The Flying Scotsman was, at times, his unplayable best as he beat John Part while sporting one of the worst shirts ever seen in the history of darts, and that includes all of those worn by Wayne Mardle.

If he can replicate that form again here he’s sure to surpass O’Shea, though the BDO star is more than capable of taking of a few legs in the race to five. Back 5-3 Anderson at 4/1 as a side bet.

Andy Hamilton to beat Brendan Dolan @ 4/7

The Hammer said he ‘has to be happy’ with the draw he was handed for the Grand Slam and his confidence before the tournament began was justified as he battered Barrie Bates 5-2 in his first match.

A win for either player will guarantee progress to the knock-out round but, after beating Dolan in eight of their 11 meetings, including five of the past six, it’s difficult to challenge the idea of the Hammer celebrating when all’s said and done here.

Wes Newton to beat Wesley Harms @ 4/7

One of the most impressive performances in the opening round of games came from Sparky in his 5-2 win over Terry Jenkins, yet Newton represents a step up in class from the Bull.

At 4/7, the Warrior can’t be overlooked against a player largely untested against the biggest talents in the game. The aplomb with which he put away Martin Phillips last time out bodes well for his chances in the competition on the whole.

Christian Kist to beat Raymond van Barneveld @ 6/5

Two Dutch stars collide in a match where it is the up and coming BDO world champ who is expected to come out on top.

This is set to be the game of the night and the young pretender will be looking to rattle a few cages ahead of a prospective switch to the glitz and glamour of the PDC in the future.

He dismantled crowd-favourite Wayne Jones 5-1 in his opening game and the confidence that will have given him should see him past Barney, whose temperamental form leaves him prone to shock defeats.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date