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Taylor was on auto-pilot because Part simply failed to turn up at Blackpool….a 13-2 thrashing, after Taylor won an incredible 11 consecutive legs to clinch victory.

Both players looked nervous at the start, with the first five legs all going against the throw, as Taylor led 3-2. Part just missed double eight for a 136 finish to win that 5th leg and after that, he collapsed to the Taylor power.

Taylor banged in 160, 131 and 120 finishes to average a modest 98.5 by his standards and the Unicorn star now believes he can go all the way.

He said: “I don’t know what was wrong with John and I was surprised it was so easy. I think I handled the heat better. John didn’t play his normal game but to be fair, neither did I. I think I have a real chance now and will get ready for the next one against either Dennis Priestley or Alex Roy.”

Taylor added: “After the last two tournaments, people have been writing me off. That disappoints me but to be honest it just makes me even more determined to succeed.”

So Taylor continues his relentless pursuit of an 8th Blackpool title, while Part is left to reflect on one of his worst displays in a ‘Major’. It was a different player to the one who won the Las Vegas Desert Classic crown only three weeks ago.

Unicorn ‘Contender’ Adrian Lewis lost a thriller. He was edged out in ‘The Battle of Stoke’ by Andrew Hamilton. The match went to overtime and the nerve ends were jangling but it was Hamilton who won through 15-13.

Lewis fought his way back from 9-6 down but time and time again, Hamilton showed just why he is rated so highly by his fellow pro’s.

At 11 all, it had to be won by two clear legs….crucially Lewis lost his throw in the 27th leg and clinched it with double top in the next. Both players deserve great credit for averaging 92 in the searing heat.

Earlier, young Unicorn star James Wade produced a blistering display in the Winter Gardens heat to reach the 2nd round.

He thrashed Denis Ovens 10 legs to 1….and will now face Unicorn stablemate Kevin Painter on Wednesday afternoon.

Everyone knows that Wade has got the talent, the potential and the ability to win major titles in the world of darts. This is the first time he has really proved it and shown exactly what he is capable of.

It was his debut in Blackpool and he started the match with a single one! After that, there was no stopping the 23-year-old from Aldershot, as he made Ovens wilt in the heat!

“It was my best display in a major TV tournament,” he said. “I have put the work in and prepared properly and that was my reward….but there is more to come and I won’t be satisfied with just reaching the 2nd round.”

Wade recently quit his job as a mechanic to concentrate on his darts career. It looks like a shrewd move.

“I showed a bit of backbone out there and if I turn up against Kevin Painter and play at my best, I will beat Kevin Painter.”

The odds on a 10-0 whitewash were 150/1 and Wade so nearly did it! He raced into a 5-0 lead with check-outs of 84 and 120 and hardly missed a double.

Wade then hit two maximum’s, finished brilliantly on 138, just missed a 156 and Ovens was a virtual spectator. Wade then just missed the bull on a 74 finish for the whitewash but it only delayed matters for a few minutes.

Wade averaged 97 and had a terrific 67 per cent on the check-outs….nailing 10 out of 15 shots at the double…..he reckons he can up that average by at least another three points…if he does, Painter will have a real game on his hands.

Elsewhere on day three, Andy Jenkins set up a 2nd round clash with Roland Scholten, after coming through a thriller against Alan Warriner. Jenkins led 6-0 before ‘The Iceman’ showed his cool with a terrific fightback to take the match into overtime. ‘Jenks’ finally won 11-9. Scholten hit 9 180s in his victory over ‘The Pie Man’ Andy Smith. In one leg, the Dutch ace hit seven perfect darts on his way to a 9-darter but missed the treble 15. Dennis Smith was forced to leave the stage close to the end of his defeat against Ronnie Baxter. ‘Smiffy’ was badly affected by temperatures of over 100 degrees on the Blackpool stage….but he bravely came back, refusing to quit and actually won a leg before going down 10-4.

Tuesday results – 1st round:

Denis Ovens 1-10 James Wade
Andy Jenkins 11-9 Alan Warriner
Roland Scholten 10-6 Andy Smith
Mark Walsh 10-8 Dave Askew
Ronnie Baxter 10-4 Dennis Smith

2nd Round:

Andy Hamilton 15-13 Adrian Lewis
Phil Taylor 13-2 John Part

Wednesday’s order of play – 2nd Round (1pm)

Dennis Priestley v Alex Roy
Wayne Mardle v Lionel Sams
Kevin Painter v James Wade

2nd Round (7pm)

Andy Jenkins v Roland Scholten
Steve Maish v Chris Mason
Mark Walsh v Ronnie Baxter

Watch out for the next instalment of Sid’s UniBlog diary from Blackpool on Wednesday.

BY STUART PYKE