Grand Slam of Darts 2014 Results: 2nd-Round Scores, Updated Draw, Schedule
The wheat was separated from the chaff in the group stage, and now the 2014 Grand Slam of Darts enters higher-stakes territory as Wednesday kicked off the second round.
The biggest shock of the tournament so far saw Grand Slam debutant Keegan Brown eject Raymond van Barneveld from the running, with Michael van Gerwen and Dave Chisnall among the more predictable quarter-final qualifiers.
A second batch of second-round drama took place on Thursday, with Phil Taylor sailing through to the last four with an easy win over Peter Wright and Stephen Bunting taking the match of the tournament against James Wade.
Schedule and Updated Draw
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Friday, November 14 (7 p.m.-11 p.m.)
2x Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen vs. Kim Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall vs. Keegan Brown
Saturday, November 15 (7 p.m.-11 p.m.)
2x Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor vs. Michael Smith
Mervyn King vs. Stephen Bunting
Sunday, November 16
Afternoon Session (1 p.m.-5 p.m.)
Semi-Finals
Evening Session (7 p.m.-9 p.m.)
Final
Thursday Recap
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Thursday's Second-Round Results
Michael Smith 10-5 Christian Kist
Mervyn King 10-4 Gary Anderson
Phil Taylor 10-4 Peter Wright
Stephen Bunting 10-8 James Wade
Michael Smith, Mervyn King, Phil Taylor and Stephen Bunting all came through their second-round encounters on Thursday to get one step closer to the 2014 Grand Slam of Darts title in Wolverhampton.
The first three matches of the night were somewhat one-sided, but the headline act between Bunting and James Wade truly lived up to its billing with some unbelievably high-quality darts.
Bunting finished with a 95 to set the tone and win the opening leg. He then took out 92 to double his lead.
However, the BDO world champion was pegged back by the in-form Wade, who finished with a quite sensational 170 to get himself on the board and then evened things up with a 108 checkout.
Bunting tried to create a gap between him and his opponent and stretched his lead to 7-4 only for Wade to get things back on throw at 8-7.
A 108 finish in leg 16 handed the initiative back to Bunting at 9-7, but Wade then produced an extraordinarily pressurised 164 checkout for 9-8.
Bunting finally saw out the encounter and booked his place in the last four after a quite magnificent match.
Smith kicked off the night against Christian Kist, with the Dutchman jumping out to a 3-0 lead early on as his opponent missed several doubles to open the door.
However, the Englishman regained parity with his own run of leg-wins to effectively start the match again in a first-to-seven contest.
Both players performed well at the oche, but it was eventually Smith who drew away. Kist's last leg came at 6-5 down before an impressive 121 checkout for a 7-5 lead put the Englishman in the driver's seat, and he saw out the match with ease.
It was a matter of doubles missed for Gary Anderson in the evening's second match, as he lost 10-4 to King in a frustrating performance from the Scot.
He set the tone in the very first leg, as he failed three times for a double-12 finish to allow his opponent to get the opener on the board.
It was all even at 3-3, but King's own brilliant finishing punished Anderson in the end, as the Englishman won comfortably to book his place in the final four.
Inevitably, Taylor also found himself through to the second knockout round, as he beat Peter Wright in the penultimate match of the night.
The five-time winner and defending champion's match against his Scottish opponent followed a similar pattern to the night's two previous matches.
The pair traded legs early on for 3-3 tie before Taylor motored toward the win, as he lost just one of the next eight legs for a categorical victory.
Taylor will now face Smith in Saturday's second batch of quarter-finals matchups, while King will take on Bunting as each player aims for a semi-final spot.
Wednesday Recap
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Wednesday's Second-Round Results
Alan Norris 5-10 Kim Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall 10-3 Robbie Green
Raymond van Barneveld 7-10 Keegan Brown
Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Terry Jenkins
The first batch of second-round fixtures saw Michael van Gerwen, Keegan Brown and Dave Chisnall join the quarter-final ranks, but first to advance was the lone Belgian Kim Huybrechts.
"The Hurricane" made his way past Alan Norris, winning 10-5 in Wednesday's opening matchup, which saw the latter only once assume the lead and for just a single leg at that.
The pair exchanged blows in the early exchanges, Huybrechts beginning brightly with a 14-darter, complete with 180 in this opening leg. But as the match progressed, so too did the Belgian's hold on matters.
A 155 in the 15th leg saw Huybrechts claim a clear victory in the end, though, his third checkout of 100 or more in the fixture.
Chisnall's thrashing of Robbie Green was a result of even greater margins, though, with "Chizzy" taking no prisoners as he sailed into a 5-0 lead early on.
Having beaten Robert Thornton in the group stage, Green may have been expected to ruffle his foe's feathers on Wednesday, but the Liverpudlian was staggered and failed to recover as he fell to a 10-3 defeat.
By far the most exhilarating match of the day saw Raymond van Barneveld slip to a shock defeat against Grand Slam of Darts newcomer Keegan Brown.
At just 22 years of age, Brown may have been viewed by his Dutch opponent as little more than a minor hurdle, but "The Killer" mustered a leg average score of 97.95, the highest of any player on Wednesday.
As the Professional Darts Corporation Twitter account shows, it was a meaningful win for Brown.
Top seed Van Gerwen was last on the billing and faced an edgy head-to-head with Terry Jenkins. "Mighty Mike" claimed a 4-1 lead following some unnecessary mistakes from Jenkins, the likes of which won't win one match against players of Van Gerwen's quality.
However, Jenkins battled back to draw level at four sets apiece as it looked as though some complacency may have left the Dutchman open.
Any such suggestions were quickly dealt with, though, and Van Gerwen would claim the next six sets on the trot. Those victories included checkouts of 114, 90 and 74, but one can rest assured the titan is yet to produce his best at this year's competition.
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