PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts - Steve Maish Is ITV Wildcard Qualifier

MAISH PRODUCES MAGIC TO WIN GRAND SLAM SPOT!

STEVE MAISH won a place in the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-3 victory over Arron Monk in the ITV Wildcard Qualifier on Friday night.

Maish, ranked 42 in the PDC Order of Merit, completes the 32-player field for the £400,000 Grand Slam of Darts event, which takes place from November 14-22 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

Southend^s Maish, 45, hit four 180s in the final as he held his nerve to book a spot in front of the ITV Sport cameras.

Teenager Monk, the 19-year-old son of experienced professional Colin, took the final^s opening leg before Maish won the next two to lead.

Monk - in his best run since coming onto the pro circuit a year ago - levelled, but Maish hit a 180 in breaking throw for a 3-2 lead and another maximum to create a two-leg cushion.

Monk took the seventh leg, but Maish earned the victory by hitting double 18 with his third dart in the next.

"I^m absolutely delighted," said Maish. "I played well all night and took my chances.

"To come through nearly 190 players and win a place in the Grand Slam is a very proud moment and I can^t wait to get on stage in Wolverhampton."

Maish will now compete in Group C of the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts, which begins next Saturday in Wolverhampton, alongside Mervyn King, Darryl Fitton and Kirk Shepherd, taking on Fitton in his opening game.

Wolverhampton^s Wayne Jones narrowly missed out on a spot in front of his home fans, losing 4-3 to Monk in the semi-finals.

Jones had shown great form in whitewash wins over Jan van der Rassel and Mark Jodrill in reaching the last four, and battled back from 3-0 down to level against the youngster before being edged out in a decider.

Ronnie Baxter, the highest ranked player in the PDC Order of Merit not to have already qualified, also missed out in the semis, losing 4-2 to Maish.

Baxter had edged out Jamie Caven 4-3 in the quarters, with the Derby man coming from 3-1 down to earn a deciding leg only to miss one match dart as the Blackpool man progressed.

Cheshire^s Mark Jodrill enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals, including wins over Barrie Bates and Dennis Priestley, in his best display in a PDC event.

Alan Tabern, one of three qualifiers from last year^s ITV Wildcard Qualifier, also reached the last eight, alongside Matt Clark.

Scotland^s Mike Veitch and Stoke^s Andy Boulton - both players with experience in the Lakeside Championship - were amongst the losing players at the last 16 stage, alongside previous Grand Slam competitors Priestley and Peter Manley.

Wes Newton, who won last year^s ITV Wildcard Qualifier, was among a host of top seeds to lose in the first round, while last year^s third placed qualifier Colin McGarry was defeated 4-3 by Nick Fullwell in the preliminary round.

PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts

ITV Wildcard Qualifier Draw

Preliminary Round

Jamie Atkins 4-3 Lee Martin

AJ Urmston-Toft 4-1 John Nicol

Nick Fullwell 4-3 Colin McGarry

Billy Meakins 4-2 Paul Burrows

Neil Dickson 4-0 Frazer Gunn

Evander Stevenston 4-0 Martin Payne

Tony Martin 4-3 Paul Gudgeon

Sean White 4-0 Wayne Moulds

Jamie McGougan 4-0 Shane Lennon

Paul Alexander 4-3 Andy Pearson

Danny Pinhorne 4-1 Chris Gibson

Justin Pipe 4-0 Tommy McIntosh

Ian Lever 4-3 Chris Maguire

Andy Relf 4-0 David Ansell

Matt Draper 4-0 Richard Johnson

George Collumb 4-0 Alan MacFayden

John Phillips 4-1 Alan McNiven

Martyn Turner 4-0 Norman Fletcher

Darren Johnson 4-2 Andrew Fletcher

Dean Lawrie 4-2 Jordan Smith

Shayne O^Connor 4-1 Darren Latham

Geoff Wylie 4-3 Geoff Whitworth

Ray Farrell 4-0 Stewart Eyre

Simon Burt 4-1 Chris Allen

Cameron Menzies 4-1 George Dempsey

Steve Grubb 4-3 Alan Tabern Jnr

Peter Johnstone 4-2 Craig Sharples

Daz Mawer 4-2 Par Riihonen

Bryan de Hoog 4-1 Mark Lawrence

Steve Musson 4-2 Stuart Holden

Fraser Dempsey 4-2 Andy Pearce

Don Haughton 4-3 Alan Brown

Mark Jodrill 4-2 Matt Jackson

Carl Minter 4-0 Andy Fulton

Brian Mailey 4-3 Jim Leighton

Alex Tinsley 4-0 Derek Ulke

Rick Lowther 4-3 Matt Padgett

Steve Evans 4-2 Derek Penn

Gary Welding 4-0 Neil Morton

Joe Cullen 4-3 Chris Loudon

James Barton 4-0 Mark McLernon

Stephen Hardy 4-1 Ian Gleeson

Mark Carter 4-2 Jon Archer

Dylan Duo 4-3 Mickey Stihl

Dave Ahmet 4-0 Graham Moulds

Jason Clark 4-3 Rocco Maes

Trevor Frost 4-1 Tom Martin

Paul Williams 4-3 Gary Stone

Graeme Stoddart 4-3 Darren Weaver

Wayne Atwood 4-3 Andy Callaby

Drew Callary 4-0 Jim Law

Mike Veitch 4-1 James Watson

Ian Swain 4-2 Ralph Hirst

Andy Middleton 4-2 Steven Harbert

John Murdoch 4-3 Mark Stephenson

Fraser McKinnon 4-3 Kevin Phaup

Iain Jones 4-1 Kevin Harris

First Round

Ronnie Baxter (1) 4-1 Tony Ayres

Jamie Atkins 4-2 Lee Holden

Mark Frost (32) 4-2 John Harrison

AJ Urmston-Toft 4-3 Nick Fullwell

Andy Jenkins (16) 4-3 Paul Hughes

Billy Meakins 4-0 Neil Dickson

Alex Roy (17) 4-2 Richie Burnett

Tony Martin 4-1 Evander Stevenston

Jelle Klaasen (8) 4-2 Andrew Downie

Sean White 4-0 Jamie McGougan

Mick McGowan (25) 4-3 Dave Ladley

Danny Pinhorne 4-0 Paul Alexander

Jamie Caven (9) 4-0 James Weldon

Justin Pipe 4-3 Ian Lever

Ian Gunion 4-3 Brendan Dolan (24)

Matt Draper 4-3 Andy Relf

Peter Manley (5) 4-0 Andy Willcox

Michael Barnard 4-1 George Collumb

Colin Monk (28) 4-0 John Dalton

Martyn Turner 4-3 John Phillips

Tony Eccles (12) 4-3 Toon Greebe

Darren Johnson 4-0 Dean Lawrie

Steve Maish (21) 4-0 Colin Finlay

Geoff Wylie 4-3 Shayne O^Connor

Alan Tabern (4) 4-1 Dave Smith

Ray Farrell 4-3 Stuart Bousfield

Steve Hine (29) 4-2 Ian MacFarlane

Simon Burt 4-3 Cameron Menzies

John Quantock 4-3 Michael van Gerwen (13)

Steve Grubb 4-2 Peter Johnstone

Louis Blundell 4-3 Adrian Gray (20)

Bryan de Hoog 4-3 Daz Mawer

Dennis Priestley (2) 4-0 Adam Major

Steve Musson 4-0 Philip MacLeod

Steve Brown (31) 4-2 Gary Swan

Don Haughton 4-1 Fraser Dempsey

Barrie Bates (15) 4-1 Joe Bata

Mark Jodrill 4-0 Carl Minter

Sam Allen 4-3 Paul Nicholson (18)

Alex Tinsley 4-1 Brian Mailey

Wayne Jones (7) 4-1 Dave Honey

Rick Lowther 4-0 Steve Watts

Dennis Smith (26) 4-0 Jamie Whitmore

Steve Evans 4-3 Gary Welding

Andy Smith (10) 4-0 Geoff Harvey

James Barton 4-1 Joe Cullen

Jan van der Rassel (23) 4-1 Chris Jackson

Mark Carter 4-3 Stephen Hardy

Andy Boulton 4-3 Mark Dudbridge (6)

Lionel Sams 4-2 Dylan Duo

John MaGowan (27) 4-0 Dave Atkins

Dave Ahmet 4-3 Jason Clark

Arron Monk 4-3 Wes Newton (11)

Paul Williams 4-1 Trevor Frost

Michael Smith 4-2 Jacko Barry (22)

Wayne Atwood 4-2 Graeme Stoddart

Mark Walsh (3) 4-0 Nigel Birch

Drew Callary 4-1 Steve Gerrard

Peter Wright (30) 4-0 Simon Pugh

Mike Veitch 4-1 Ian Swain

David Brown 4-2 Roland Scholten (14)

John Murdoch 4-1 Andy Middleton

Matt Clark (19) 4-2 Ken Dobson

Iain Jones 4-2 Fraser McKinnon

Second Round

Ronnie Baxter 4-3 Jamie Atkins

AJ Urmston-Toft 4-3 Mark Frost

Andy Jenkins 4-1 Billy Meakins

Tony Martin 4-1 Alex Roy

Sean White 4-3 Jelle Klaasen

Danny Pinhorne 4-1 Mick McGowan

Jamie Caven 4-3 Justin Pipe

Matt Draper 4-0 Ian Gunion

Peter Manley 4-2 Michael Barnard

Colin Monk 4-1 Martyn Turner

Tony Eccles 4-0 Darren Johnson

Steve Maish 4-1 Geoff Wylie

Alan Tabern 4-0 Ray Farrell

Simon Burt 4-3 Steve Hine

Steve Grubb 4-2 John Quantock

Bryan de Hoog 4-3 Louis Blundell

Dennis Priestley 4-2 Steve Musson

Don Haughton 4-3 Steve Brown

Mark Jodrill 4-3 Barrie Bates

Sam Allen 4-2 Alex Tinsley

Wayne Jones 4-3 Rick Lowther

Dennis Smith 4-2 Steve Evans

Andy Smith 4-3 James Barton

Jan van der Rassel 4-2 Mark Carter

Andy Boulton 4-2 Lionel Sams

John MaGowan 4-0 Dave Ahmet

Arron Monk 4-1 Paul Williams

Wayne Atwood 4-1 Michael Smith

Mark Walsh 4-2 Drew Callary

Mike Veitch 4-3 Peter Wright

David Brown 4-2 John Murdoch

Matt Clark 4-2 Iain Jones

Third Round

Ronnie Baxter 4-2 AJ Urmston-Toft

Andy Jenkins 4-1 Tony Martin

Danny Pinhorne 4-2 Sean White

Jamie Caven 4-0 Matt Draper

Peter Manley 4-0 Colin Monk

Steve Maish 4-2 Tony Eccles

Alan Tabern 4-0 Simon Burt

Steve Grubb 4-2 Bryan de Hoog

Dennis Priestley 4-3 Don Haughton

Mark Jodrill 4-1 Sam Allen

Wayne Jones 4-3 Dennis Smith

Jan van der Rassel 4-2 Andy Smith

Andy Boulton 4-1 John MaGowan

Arron Monk 4-3 Wayne Atwood

Mike Veitch 4-2 Mark Walsh

Matt Clark 4-1 David Brown

Fourth Round

Ronnie Baxter 4-3 Andy Jenkins

Jamie Caven 4-0 Danny Pinhorne

Steve Maish 4-2 Peter Manley

Alan Tabern 4-2 Steve Grubb

Mark Jodrill 4-2 Dennis Priestley

Wayne Jones 4-0 Jan van der Rassel

Arron Monk 4-2 Andy Boulton

Matt Clark 4-1 Mike Veitch

Quarter-Finals

Ronnie Baxter 4-3 Jamie Caven

Steve Maish 4-2 Alan Tabern

Wayne Jones 4-0 Mark Jodrill

Arron Monk 4-2 Matt Clark

Semi-Finals

Steve Maish 4-2 Ronnie Baxter

Arron Monk 4-3 Wayne Jones

Final

Steve Maish 5-3 Arron Monk

Winner wins place in PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts