PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts - Day Two Afternoon Session
TED HANKEY suffered defeat to Scott Waites on his debut in the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday afternoon.
Hankey, the current BDO World Champion and number two seed in the Grand Slam, slumped to a disappointing 5-3 loss to Waites in Wolverhampton in his first group game.
He will now face a must-win clash with Wayne Mardle in Monday^s second phase of group games if he is to keep alive his hopes of progressing to the last 16.
Hankey never settled in losing to his BDO rival, and at one stage hit out at jeers from the Wolverhampton crowd.
Mardle^s bid in the tournament also took a knock as he went down 5-1 to Australian ace Simon Whitlock in their opening fixture.
Number three seed James Wade defeated American Gary Mawson 5-3 in a below-par performance, while Robert Thornton overcame Andy Hamilton 5-2 in Group H^s other fixture.
Terry Jenkins and Darin Young made winning starts in Group G with impressive victories against Denis Ovens and Adrian Lewis respectively.
Jenkins averaged 103 in seeing off Ovens 5-1, while American left-hander Young came from 2-0 down to win five successive legs, including a 147 checkout, to take a 5-2 victory.
Gary Anderson and Steve Beaton were the early winners in Group F, with Scottish star Anderson, a semi-finalist last year, defeating Kevin McDine 5-2.
Beaton, the recent European Championship runner-up, defeated Holland^s Co Stompe 5-2 in their opening game and now meets Anderson on Monday night.
Play continues on Sunday evening with the second round of matches for Groups A-D, including Phil Taylor against Mark Webster, Raymond van Barneveld taking on Kevin Painter and Mervyn King versus ITV Wildcard Qualifier Steve Maish.
PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts
Sunday November 15
Afternoon Session
Groups E-H First Games
Steve Beaton 5-2 Co Stompe
Robert Thornton 5-2 Andy Hamilton
Darin Young 5-2 Adrian Lewis
Simon Whitlock 5-1 Wayne Mardle
Scott Waites 5-3 Ted Hankey
Gary Anderson 5-2 Kevin McDine
James Wade 5-3 Gary Mawson
Terry Jenkins 5-1 Denis Ovens
Evening Session (6pm-11pm)
Groups A-D Second Games
John Part v Francis Hoenselaar
Colin Lloyd v Brian Woods
Vincent van der Voort v Anastasia Dobromyslova
Darryl Fitton v Kirk Shepherd
Raymond van Barneveld v Kevin Painter
Phil Taylor v Mark Webster
Tony O^Shea v Colin Osborne
Mervyn King v Steve Maish
STEVE BEATON 5-2 CO STOMPE
Red Dragon’s Darts STEVE BEATONenjoyed a debut victory at the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-2 win over Co Stompe.
Beaton, who has enjoyed a successful couple of months on the PDC circuit, winning over £40,000 in the process, has now put himself in a good position to qualify for the knockout phases.
The former World Champion started the game confidently, opening up with two 140s in the process of taking the opening leg.
A superb 170 from Beaton put the pressure on Stompe in the second leg, and he succumbed by missing two darts to level the game and allowed Beaton to increase his lead.
But Stompe broke back in the third leg with a good two-dart 70 finish, only for Beaton to hit a 12-darter to restore his two leg advantage.
Beaton moved 4-1 ahead with the aid of a 15-dart leg, but Stompe fought hard and converted a 13-darter in the sixth to keep the game alive.
The Dutchman had the initiative in the seventh leg, but he wasted two opportunities at doubles and Beaton closed the game out by landing double top with his last dart.
"I put the pressure on Co from the start and thankfully he missed a couple of chances," said Beaton. I^m very happy with today^s result."
ROBERT THORNTON 5-2 ANDY HAMILTON
ROBERT THORNTON won the opening game of Group H with a 5-2 victory over former Grand Slam of Darts finalist Andy Hamilton.
Thornton, making his second appearance in the event, broke throw in the opening leg with a 14-dart finish, which included a maximum.
The Scotsman landed double top for a second time to win the second leg, and the same double came to his aid again as he moved into a 3-0 lead.
Hamilton stemmed the tide by taking the fourth leg with his first 180, and then got himself right back into the game by winning the fifth to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Both players wasted chances to win the next and it took a crucial last dart on double two from Thornton to go one leg away from the match.
Hamilton landed two maximums in the seventh leg, but wasted five darts at doubles and Thornton stepped in to claim victory.
"I^ve never seen Andy miss so many doubles and it was a case of taking my chances," said Thornton. "This is a really tough group and I^ve given myself a good chance of getting through."
A disappointed Hamilton admitted that the proved to be the decisive factor, saying: "I really paid for the mistakes I made today. It^s my own fault."
DARIN YOUNG 5-2 ADRIAN LEWIS
DARIN YOUNG produced an excellent display to defeat PDC number eight Adrian Lewis at the 2009 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.
The American, who appeared in last year^s event, put together five impressive legs from 2-0 down to win the match and give himself a great chance of coming through Group G.
Lewis, started the match well with a 13-dart finish to break throw, and then won the second leg to move 2-0 ahead.
Young got himself into the game by winning the third leg, and then levelled the game with a fabulous 147 checkout.
Young then won the fifth leg, to lead for the first time in the game and then extended that with an 81 finish, after looking at a potential nine-darter when he hit back-to-back 180s.
The American missed chances to win the match in the seventh leg, but Lewis was unable to capitalise when missing four opportunities of his own, and Young returned to the oche to record a famous win.
"That 147 was the turning point in the match," admitted Young. "Adrian was waiting on a double and I could have fallen further behind."
Lewis admitted: "I^m unhappy at the moment. I had opportunities to go 3-0 up and didn^t take them.
"All I can do now is get back on the practice board and prepare myself for tomorrow."
SIMON WHITLOCK 5-1 WAYNE MARDLE
AUSTRALIAN Simon Whitlock produced a superb display to defeat Wayne Mardle 5-1 in the opening game of Group E in the PartyPoker.net Grand Slam of Darts.
Whitlock, who reached the quarter-finals of last year^s event, will now play Scott Waites on Monday evening.
After the match the victorious Aussie said; "I^m really pleased with the win as Wayne is a tough player.
"My finishing was excellent and that was the difference."
Whitlock broke throw in the opening leg with the aid of a maximum, and then hit a clinical 142 checkout after Mardle had missed two darts at double 16 to level matters.
Mardle managed to win the third leg after Whitlock missed four chances for a double-break, but Whitlock soon restored his two-leg advantage with a 68 finish.
Whitlock continued to power on and the fifth leg with a 14-dart finish and rounded of the match in style with a 141 checkout.
"Simon^s finishing really killed me and I got what I deserved," said Mardle. "This year has been disappointing for me with illness and poor form, but I am glad to be back competing again."
SCOTT WAITES 5-3 TED HANKEY
SCOTT WAITES made a winning start to his 2009 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts campaign with a tough 5-3 victory over Ted Hankey.
Waites had led the game 4-1 but missed a total of 13 darts to win the match before finally coming through.
"I really stumbled over the line," conceded Waites. "I should have closed out the game earlier, but I^m glad I came through."
Waites took the first leg in impressive fashion, landing bullseye for an 87 finish, before Hankey took the second leg to level the game.
The Yorkshireman managed to regain the lead after Hankey missed a dart at bullseye for a 170 checkout, and then broke throw for a 3-1 lead when he hit double nine.
Waites moved further clear when he put together a 15-darter in the fifth leg, but he missed four chances at double top to win and the Lakeside Champion made him pay by converting a 100 finish.
The pressure really got to Waites in the next leg as he nine more opportunities to win the match and Hankey landed double six to keep his hopes alive.
But Waites put those mistakes behind him and managed to hit a 96 finish in eighth leg to confirm victory.
GARY ANDERSON 5-2 KEVIN McDINE
GARY ANDERSON made a winning start to the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-2 victory over Kevin McDine.
Anderson ended the match with a three-dart average of over 100 and will now take on Steve Beaton in an eye-catching encounter on Monday evening.
The Scotsman comfortably held throw in the first leg before McDine squared the game with a 70 finish.
Anderson regained the lead with a 12-dart leg and then broke his opponent^s throw in the fourth leg, which included his second maximum of the game.
Anderson, who has reached the semi-finals in his previous two appearances at this event, then moved 4-1 ahead after landing double 16.
McDine, a former semi-finalist in Wolverhampton himself, kept the game alive by winning the sixth leg, but Anderson closed out the game in the next leg by hitting double 10 for the second time in the contest.
Anderson, who admitted to feeling under the weather before the match said: "Kevin didn^t play any were near like I know he can."
Looking ahead to his clash against Steve Beaton tomorrow night Anderson added: "I know I will have to play well against Steve. He has been on fire in the last couple of months."
JAMES WADE 5-3 GARY MAWSON
JAMES WADE won his opening match in Group H at the 2009 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-3 triumph over Gary Mawson.
Wade struggled throughout in an under-par performance but managed to come out on top, and will now play Robert Thornton on Monday evening.
The world number three held throw at the start of the match despite Mawson having four opportunities to break.
Mawson won the second leg and had more chances to win the third, but the American was guilty of missing more doubles and Wade took a 2-1 lead.
Wade, who became the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts champion back in May, broke his opponent^s throw for a 3-1 lead and then landed double 16 for a 4-1 advantage.
Wade missed three darts for the match in the sixth leg and Mawson stepped in by hitting double seven to keep his hopes alive.
Wade missed two more chances to close the game out in the next leg and Mawson hit double top to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
In the eighth leg Mawson missed one dart at double top to take the game into a deciding leg, and Wade pounced by converting a 102 checkout to get the two points.
TERRY JENKINS 5-1 DENIS OVENS
TERRY JENKINS made a confident start to his PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts campaign with a 5-1 victory over Denis Ovens.
Jenkins, who reached the final of last year^s event before losing to Phil Taylor in the final, ended the match with an impressive three dart average of 103.09.
The Herefordshire man, who is seeded sixth this year, made a strong start breaking throw in the second leg with a clinical 121 checkout for a 2-0 lead.
Ovens managed to reduce the deficit by winning the third leg, but Jenkins won the next with an 86 finish to restore his two-leg advantage.
Jenkins continued his high standard and went 4-1 ahead with a 14-dart finish and the finished off the game in the sixth leg by landing double four.
Jenkins will now take on American Darin Young, who he lost to in the group stages of last year^s event.
"I definitely want revenge over Darin after what happened last year," said Jenkins. "He took out some good finishes today in his game against Adrian Lewis and I know I will have to be on my game."