World Grand Prix Darts 2015: Scores, Results, Updated Schedule After Sunday
The World Grand Prix got underway in style on Sunday, as the darts elite battled it out on opening night in Dublin and put a show on.
Eight mouth-watering matches took centre stage to kick off 2015’s tournament, and they didn’t disappoint. There were dramatic comebacks, deciding legs and, of course, some terrific tungsten.
Here’s a look at a full set of results from Day 1 at the Citywest Hotel and a glance at the fixtures for Day 2, which now has a lot to live up to.
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| Fixture | Scoreline |
| William O'Connor v Jamie Lewis | 1-2 |
| Mark Webster v Stephen Bunting | 2-1 |
| Kim Huybrechts v Benito van de Pas | 2-1 |
| Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price | 2-1 |
| Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall | 1-2 |
| Michael van Gerwen v Keegan Brown | 2-1 |
| Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld | 2-0 |
| Jelle Klaasen v Brendan Dolan | 2-1 |
| Player | v | Player |
| Andrew Gilding | v | Simon Whitlock |
| Justin Pipe | v | Steve Beaton |
| Mervyn King | v | Terry Jenkins |
| James Wade | v | Mensur Suljovic |
| Ian White | v | Jamie Caven |
| Phil Taylor | v | Vincent van der Voort |
| Gary Anderson | v | John Henderson |
| Robert Thornton | v | Daryl Gurney |
Sunday Recap
Sunday was a day of tight, fierce encounters at the World Grand Prix, with the double-in, best-of-three-sets format serving up some mouth-watering darts.
The lineup was just about as appealing too, as reigning champion Michael van Gerwen took on highly rated youngster Keegan Brown, 22, and two world champions collided in the form of Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld.
But it was William O’Connor and Jamie Lewis who kicked us off on Day 1, and they produced a tense affair on the Dublin stage.
Both players had chances to win the match as it went all the way to a decider, yet it was Lewis who just crept over the line with a well-thrown double five to win 2-1.
The statistics reflected just how close the opening match was:
That set the tone for the rest of the evening, as several matches went all the way to the wire.
However, Lewis’ fellow Welshman, Mark Webster, went through no such drama, as he put Stephen Bunting to the sword with a 3-0 scoreline in the final set.
Webby was looking sharp and full of confidence as he put his name in the Round 2 hat, with tops very much his friend throughout.
Following the match, he tweeted his joy at emerging victorious:
Kim Huybrechts enjoyed a similarly routine victory over Benito van de Pas despite going a set down, as he rattled in six of the last seven legs to win 2-1.
World No. 8 Michael Smith was next up, as looked to put his curse of the TV major to bed against Gerwyn Price.
There’s no doubting the Englishman’s talent, but he’s struggled to make an impact in the biggest tournaments of them all.
And when Price went a set up with some excellent darts, the unwanted run looked like it would continue.
The situation appeared even more dour for Smith in the final set after levelling up, as Price had several darts at double 20 for the match.
However, the Welshman couldn’t quite take advantage, as Smith swooped to take the deciding leg without Price getting off the mark.
Again, the stats were incredibly close, per PDC Darts:
Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright then served up a gripping encounter, as Wright missed four match darts before eventually losing 2-1.
The darts on show were superb, yet it was the pair’s outfits that caught the attention, as PDC Darts reflected upon:
Then came the turn of Van Gerwen, who eased to the opening set against young Brown with three straight legs.
Something sparked in the youngster after that, though, and he comprehensively beat the world No. 1 to the second set to put himself right back in the contest.
Van Gerwen was looking shaken, yet he managed to take the opening leg of the final set to steady the ship.
And it looked for all the world as if he were going to move into a 2-0 lead after a dominant second leg, but Brown produced a quite incredible 152 checkout to raise the roof in Dublin.
Darts journalist Pieter Verbeek was one of many praising the youngster’s bottle when taking the 19 route:
Maybe there was too much adrenaline pumping around Brown’s system after that, though, as his darts completely deserted him while hunting around the board for a double.
That let Van Gerwen in, and it wasn’t an invitation he was about to refuse—winning that and the next leg to set up a meaty Round 2 clash with Huybrechts.
Despite Brown’s excellent performance, it was Lewis who put together the display of the evening with a routine victory over Van Barneveld.
Barney kicked off by failing to hit a double in more than 20 attempts, and it didn’t get better for him after that.
Lewis lost just one leg to the great Dutchman on the way to a 2-0 set victory, putting Barney out of the sport’s top 16 in the process.
Closing the show on opening night was home favourite Brendan Dolan and the in-form Jelle Klaasen, and it was the latter who emerged victorious with a 2-1 triumph despite going a set down.
Klaasen's victory was the seventh out of eight matches on Sunday night that required a third and final set—making it a big act to follow for Monday's fixtures.
However, with the likes of Phil Taylor, James Wade and world champion Gary Anderson in action on Day 2, the ingredients are there for another thrilling evening.
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