John Part stamped his class on the Grand Slam of Darts to win his group in style and avoid a showdown with ‘The Power’ in the second round. Remember the Canadian lost his opening match, was 4-1 down against Mark Webster and on the brink of elimination. He staged that amazing comeback on Sunday and finished off in style, by demolishing Andy Jenkins in their winner-takes-all clash.
Part will now face Colin Lloyd in the knock-out stages.
It was a heck of a performance from Unicorn’s two times former World Champion. The big moment came in the second leg, when Jenkins missed three darts to make it one leg apiece and Part stepped in with a trademark 124 bull finish….and from there, the result was never in doubt.
It’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride for Part: “It has been a heck of a journey. I guess some would say it’s been heroic but I reckon it is because there was no pressure, when it looked like I was out of it,” he said.
Part added: “I knew all the match and all the permutations before the match started and to be honest, that helped.”
Poor Barrie Bates is on his way back to South Wales, after being blown away by Gary Anderson. The BDO No.1 had a 107 average and Bates didn’t get a single shot at a double. The Unicorn star never stood a chance, with Anderson now looking a major threat in the event.
Phil Taylor breezed to victory over Ronnie Baxter but he will be disappointed with the way he finished the match! Baxter only arrived at the venue 45 minutes before the start after he was stuck in traffic on the motorway and he never looked like threatening ‘The Power’.
Taylor led 4-2 with a 105 average but then proceeded to miss nine darts for the match, before finally hitting double one to seal the win but all those misses saw his match average drop dramatically to 97.
“I am feeling comfortable and I am in the mood this week. It’s fair to say I am dedicated again and I definitely want to be the first ever winner of the Grand Slam on Sunday,” he said.
Unicorn’s US No.1 Gary Mawson was well beaten in his final group match and his heavy defeat cost him top spot in Group F and means he will now face Taylor in an all Unicorn 2nd Round clash on Thursday.
There was no pressure on him or opponent Mark Webster, who couldn’t qualify from Group F but the Welshman was determined to go out with a flourish and that’s exactly what he did – thrashing Mawson 5-1.
Webster raced into a 4-0 lead thanks to some steady scoring and check-outs of 101 and 117. Mawson pulled one leg back but wasn’t at the races – probably feeling too relaxed after qualifying already.
Kevin Painter clinched top spot in Group G, despite losing a cracking match to hometown boy Wayne Jones. Painter actually played pretty well and eased into a 4-2 lead, before the man from Wolverhampton turned crowd pleaser with three phenomenal legs of darts.
Jones hit back-to-back 11 darters and then won it with a 14-darter to record his first win of the week, to make sure he goes home with pride in tact.
Elsewhere on day four at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Colin Lloyd blitzed Wayne Mardle to claim his spot in the last 16, while Mervyn King was the last man through to the last 16, after beating Michael Van Gerwen. It’ll be Painter against King on Thursday night.
Tuesday’s results:
Scott Waites 0-5 Roland Scholten
Final Group standings:
Group H – Phil Taylor (6pts) Colin Lloyd (4pts) Wayne Mardle (2pts) Ronnie Baxter (0pts)
Group F – John Part (4pts) Gary Mawson (4pts) Mark Webster (2pts) Andy Jenkins (2pts)
Group G – Kevin Painter (4pts) Gary Anderson (4pts) Barrie Bates (2pts) Wayne Jones (2pts)
Group H – Roland Scholten (6pts) Mervyn King (4pts) Michael Van Gerwen (2pts) Scott Waites (0pts)
PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts 2nd Round:
Wednesday night:
Andy Hamilton v Adrian Lewis
Thursday night:
John Part v Colin Lloyd
BY STUART PYKE
