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The Unicorn rivals went toe-to-toe but Part will again curse his slow start, when he failed to put any pressure on Taylor, missed doubles and woke up too late, despite a valiant effort.

Taylor raced into a 7-3 lead and looked to be coasting….Part missed doubles in the next three legs to leave himself on the brink, when ‘The Power’ surged 9-4 ahead.

But then came the comeback….Taylor missed two darts at d16 and d8 for the match and Part stepped in for 9-5….he held his throw for 9-6 and made it 9-7, as Taylor blew two more chances to clinch victory.

The Canadian ace came agonisingly close to making it 9-8, when his last dart clipped the wire of double 19 for what would have been a sensational 158 finish and Taylor finally nailed double tops and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“It was a strange match,” admitted Taylor. “I felt relaxed and then nervous and I was telling myself to keep cool. There was tremendous respect between John and I and that’s the way it should be but I am just happy to win.”

It was a great effort by Part: “I dug in but was disappointed with my treble 20 shooting and I guess in the end, I left myself a little too much to do.”

Taylor will now face off against BDO No.1 Gary Anderson, who beat ‘The Power’ by 7 sets to 3 in the final of the World Darts Trophy in September.

It was ‘Hammer Time’ at the Grand Slam!

Andy Hamilton won a thrilling all-Unicorn affair, edging out great friend Terry Jenkins 10-8 to set up a semi-final showdown against the new kid on the block Kevin McDine.

It was nip and tuck all the way. Hamilton hit two 180s in the first leg and won it in 12 darts….it then went to three legs all and five apiece….along the way a 110 finish from Jenkins, a 115 from Hamilton and some heavy scoring.

A 98 kill from ‘The Bull’ put him 6-5 ahead but back came Hamilton with another 12 darter….six each became 7-all but Hamilton broke to go 8-7 up with a 72 check-out after Jenkins had missed one dart at tops.

In the next leg, the Stoke star just missed the bull for a 170 and lost it! But ‘The Hammer’ kept his composure, because under a lot of pressure he pulled out a 114 finish to go 9-8 up and although a fourth maximum from Jenkins put the pressure on, a cool Hamilton took out tops for a 69 finish and a terrific victory.

He said: “That was one tough game but I knew I was playing well. There are still parts of my game that I’m not happy with but the 114 finish to go 9-8 in front was crucial for me. I want to build on what I have achieved and that means a major TV final and a major victory.”

“I know it has been a great week for Kevin McDine but he will have to play very well to beat me,” said Hamilton.

Jenkins was left to rue missed chances as his Hamilton hoodoo struck again. “I can’t believe that he has got the better of me again. I just seem to be jinxed against Andy. I don’t know what I need to do to beat him!”

Kevin Painter will be cursing! He missed a fantastic opportunity to beat Anderson but endured double trouble and those missed chances cost him very dear.

Painter had an amazing 37 attempts at a winning double but hit only seven….Anderson had only 23 chances but crucially hit those 10.

It was a scrappy match….Anderson hit a 113, an 11-darter and a 72 to move 5-2 in front. That was the signal for Painter to play his best darts of the quarter-final. He won four consecutive legs to edge ahead 6-5 and then came the curse of the missed doubles.

He missed three darts to make it 7-5, four more in the next leg and three more in a wretched run, which saw him trail 9-6. Anderson then missed two for the match to allow Painter a chance but the Scot hit a 104 to seal the win.

If only Painter had taken his chances but it is another case of what might have been for ‘The Artist’.

Rookie McDine – a qualifier for the Grand Slam – averaged 99 in his demolition of former Lakeside World Champion Jelle Klaasen. ‘Supermac’ hit eight 180s, three ton plus finishes and there is no doubt a darts star has been born in Wolverhampton this week….Hamilton will have his hands full!

Quarter-Final results:

Kevin McDine 10-3 Jelle Klaasen
Terry Jenkins 8-10 Andy Hamilton
Phil Taylor 10-7 John Part
Kevin Painter 7-10 Gary Anderson

Losers - £10,000

Saturday’s Semi-Finals (best of 25 legs) live on ITV1 at 2pm

Kevin McDine v Andy Hamilton
Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson

BY STUART PYKE

Photo courtesy of Chris Sargeant