Grand Slam of Darts 2015: Scores, Results, Updated Schedule After Saturday
Reigning champion Phil Taylor made a winning start to defending his title at the 2015 edition of the Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, England, as the Power brushed aside Martin Phillips with the minimum of fuss.
There were also big wins for tournament heavyweights Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Gary Anderson and James Wade in the best-of-nine-legs format. But it was a bittersweet return to the Grand Slam for BDO legend Andy Fordham. He lost his first match.
Here are the results from the afternoon session:
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| Group | Player | Score | Player |
| H | Rowby-John Rodriguez | 3-5 | Robbie Green |
| G | Terry Jenkins | 3-5 | John Clayton |
| G | Robert Thornton | 5-4 | Geert De Vos |
| F | James Wade | 5-2 | Michael van der Horst |
| F | Keegan Brown | 3-5 | Mark Webster |
| E | Gary Anderson | 5-0 | Larry Butler |
| H | Phil Taylor | 5-0 | Martin Phillips |
| E | Raymond van Barneveld | 5-0 | Andy Boulton |
And for the evening session:
| Group | Player | Score | Player |
| A | Kim Huybrechts | 5-2 | Steve West |
| B | Jelle Klaasen | 5-4 | Steve Beaton |
| C | Michael Smith | 5-3 | Wayne Jones |
| D | Dave Chisnall | 5-3 | Mervyn King |
| C | Adrian Lewis | 5-2 | Andy Fordham |
| A | Michael van Gerwen | 5-0 | Mark Oosterhuis |
| B | Ian White | 2-5 | Martin Adams |
| D | Peter Wright | 5-2 | Scott Mitchell |
Recap
World champion Anderson was in ominous form as he whitewashed Larry Butler. The Flying Scotsman was in fine fettle from the off, hitting 180s for fun. All told, it took him just 10 minutes to dispatch Butler.
Taylor set a similar pace by producing another whitewash to blank Martin Phillips. A double-20 sent the current tournament champion through.
As Live Darts noted on Twitter, Taylor's scoring efficiency was excellent:
Clearly determined not to be outdone by Taylor and Anderson, Van Barneveld raced into a three-leg lead against Andy Boulton. A maximum provided the platform for a 4-0 advantage.
The mercurial Dutchman then comfortably took the fifth leg to seal the first session's third whitewash in a row. In the bid to outdo his illustrious rivals, Van Barneveld's scoring rate had been even more impressive:
It took Van Gerwen to provide the fourth win-to-nothing. As Sky Sports Darts Twitter noted, MVG's win was real blink-and-you'll-miss-it stuff:
Of all the swift victories, Van Gerwen's was the quickest, according to PDC Chief Executive Matthew Porter:
After Taylor and Anderson's impressive showings, the World Champion offered the perfect reminder to the rest of the field that he's still the player to beat.
It was also a fairly easy afternoon's work for Wade, who dismantled Michel van der Horst with little effort. In fact, Wade's only tricky moment came when it was time to close the match. He couldn't hit a modest 81 checkout and needed three throws for double-10. But having made the third count, he advanced.
On his day, Wade is a tricky opponent for anyone. He's capable of putting lengthy scoring runs together from the oche. But too often, he disappoints and fails to hit peak form. It's a mistake he can't make again in a field this talented.
While Wade enjoyed a relatively easy time of things, Robert Thornton made harder work of it against Geert De Vos. Despite hitting four maximums, The Thorn consistently found himself pegged back. At four legs apiece, he fluffed his lines twice with match darts at tops.
But hitting that mark to cap 76 eventually saw Thornton advance.
In the afternoon session's mild upset, former finalist Terry Jenkins was seen off by Jonny Clayton. The latter went 4-1 ahead before nearly letting Jenkins back into it. But hitting tops finished things off for the tournament debutante.
While Clayton rode his luck at times, fortune certainly wasn't on Keegan Brown's side during his match against Mark Webster. Falling Darts were the bane of Brown's life, according to the PDC.tv official Twitter feed:
After falling 3-0 behind, Brown took two legs in a row. But Webster held off the comeback with a 130 checkout to seal the win. PDC.tv provided highlights of the finish:
Earlier, Robbie Green had started the day by staking himself to a two-leg lead against Rowby-John Rodriguez. A maximum gave Green the first leg, while hitting double-16 let him break throw in the second.
It was another 180 that set him up for a 133 checkout to take the match.
When it was Fordham's turn at the oche, The Viking certainly proved popular with the crowd during his match with Adrian Lewis, as noted by Sky Sports reporter Laure James:
Fordham responded to the crowd's backing by turning the clock back to produce some exceptional darts during the opening leg:
But despite Fordham winning against the throw, Lewis rebounded well to take the second leg, before an 11-darter helped him win the third. Two more 180s put Lewis 3-1 in front, then a double-18 put him one leg shy of victory.
A brief fightback from The Viking was halted by Lewis hitting a double-five to spoil Fordham's comeback.
One of the highlights of the evening session was the match between Jelle Klaasen and Steve Beaton. Deadlocked all the way through, Klaasen took down 82 to finally settle things.
Over in Group D, Dave Chisnall beat Mervyn King. It's a terrific start for Chisnall in the so-called "group of death." Elsewhere in the group, Peter Wright took down Scott Mitchell thanks to building a strong 3-0 lead.
Snakebite finished better than Mitchell. A 130 gave Wright the third leg. Hitting bull completed the checkout.
After a brief Mitchell rally, Wright hit double-four to stretch his lead back to three legs. Mitchell tried to make it close, but White wasn't going to be denied:
Kicking off the night session, Kim Huybrechts tossed a pair of maximums to seal his 5-2 win over Steve West. Earlier, Huybrechts had built a three-leg lead, thanks in part to a double-16 that broke West's throw.
Meanwhile, Michael Smith beat Wayne Jones. Up 4-3, he nearly fluffed his lines by missing two march-winning throws at tops. But Smith held his nerve to take the match.
Ian White and Martin Adams played out a back-and-forth encounter. A 136 checkout put Adams 3-2 up. Then an 80 finish put him on the brink of winning this high-scoring affair.
The Wolf then checked out on 116 to wrap up a spectacular win.
Sunday's schedule is highlighted by Anderson taking on Van Barneveld, while Van Gerwen will meet Huybrecths. Here's the full schedule:
Taylor, Anderson and Van Barneveld have all served notice to tournament favourite Van Gerwen that they mean business at this year's event. Based on this evidence, the prolific Dutchman certainly won't have things all his own way in Wolverhampton.
All scoring and match information via PDC.tv.
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