partypoker.com World Grand Prix Day Two

DUTCH STARS SET UP DUBLIN CLASH
 

REIGNING partypoker.com World Grand Prix champion Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld set up an all-Dutch second round clash in Dublin with victories over John Part and Stuart Kellett on Tuesday night.

World number two van Gerwen opened the defence of his title with a brilliant 2-0 win over two-time finalist John Part, averaging 104.47 in a fine display in his first round clash in the double-start event at the Citywest Hotel.

He hit two 12-dart legs in taking the first set without reply, and though Part moved 2-1 up in the second, the Dutch star posted a key double ten to level and sealed victory in style by hitting a 180 and a 171 in a 13-darter in the set's deciding leg.

"It's a very good win for me, and to start with a 104 average is amazing," said van Gerwen. "The first set was great and I was very happy with that, but to win the game was the most important thing, and I've settled into the tournament now.

"It's good for my confidence to win this game 2-0 because John's a fabulous player and there was a lot of pressure on the game."

Van Gerwen added: "I'm really looking forward to the second round against Raymond. He beat me in the Grand Slam of Darts final last year but I've won the last few games on stage, and we always have good matches."

Van Barneveld was also a straight sets winner as he defeated Stuart Kellett, although the outcome of their game eventually hinged on the deciding leg of the first set.

The five-time World Champion had moved 2-0 up early on, only for Kellett to hit a 111 finish as he hit back to level - but he crucially missed one dart for the set at tops to allow van Barneveld to steal in on double 16.

The Dutch legend, who had won Sunday's Players Championship in Dublin as an ideal warm-up for this event, then swept through the second set without reply, hitting two 180s in a 12-darter and finishes of 118 and 94 to move into the last 16.

"I'm really happy with the win," said van Barneveld. "Every round now is like a final and I knew this wouldn't be easy because Stuart beat me two weeks ago in Germany, and I was ready for him.

"I was so comfortable in the first two legs, but Stuart played a good two or three legs, but I hit a good finish to win the first set and that was important."

World number three Adrian Lewis was a deciding-leg winner against Brendan Dolan in the night's only game which went to sudden-death.

Lewis took the first set 3-1 before the 2011 finalist hit back to level by winning the second set in five legs - but Lewis crucially took the third set's decider, hitting a key 177 in the process, as he progressed.

"It's really good to be through and I enjoyed that," said Lewis. "I think Brendan's one of the most underestimated players in the top 16 and, in my opinion, he's in the top eight so I knew how tough it would be.

"In the first couple of sets I wasn't quite getting my starting doubles but later on I started hitting tops straight off, and I'm happy with that."

Lewis now meets Justin Pipe, who overcame Andy Smith in two sets in their first round game, edging a nervy opening set 3-2 before hitting a 160 finish as he raced through the second without reply.

"The double-start is a massive challenge and it's a relief to be through," said Pipe. "My finishing was great but I wasn't as happy with my starting, and I felt that I took too long to settle in.

"I was a bit nervous, which is really strange, and I know I'll have to play better on Thursday."

Andy Hamilton, the number six seed, produced a flawless display of finishing as he hit six doubles from as many attempts in his fine 2-0 win over Kim Huybrechts.

Hamilton took out 120, 118 and 96 in taking the first set 3-1, and then finished 96 and 132 to move 2-0 up in the second, with Huybrechts' double top only stemming the tide before the UK Open finalist hit the same bed to seal a clinical win.

"I'm really pleased with that," said Hamilton, who now plays Kevin Painter. "I had to concentrate on my finishing against Kim because if you give him a chance, he's a front-runner and he likes to get on a roll.

"I had to stop his momentum, and to finish like I did shows what I can do. With how I started, he was always on the back foot and I'm happy with that.

"I'm looking forward to playing Kevin. We both love the big stage and I'm sure it will be a great game."

Painter booked his second round spot by dropping only one leg in a convincing victory over Richie Burnett, who was a semi-finalist two years ago.

"I'm delighted to get through the first round because it's a tough format and I was playing against a class player," said Painter. "You just want to get the job done, and luckily for me it went quite well.

"My starting doubles were good and that's vital in this format. I thought I played well in the first set and I did the damage there."

2012 World Grand Prix finalist Mervyn King was dumped out of the event with a straight sets loss to resurgent Wayne Jones, who only booked his place in the tournament with two recent ProTour semi-finals but completed a confidence-boosting win with a 130 checkout.

"Things have been going well for the last four weeks and, after the past eight months I’ve had, I'm really feeling confident and things are going well again," said Jones.

"I've won some good games, beaten some great players and got my confidence back. I've been really consistent over the last two or three weeks, and I'm absolutely delighted.

"It was totally unexpected to win in straight sets, but it was an okay performance - not great. I had a few chances and took them."

Jones' second round game will see him come up against number seven seed Dave Chisnall, a double ProTour winner last month, after the St Helens ace's three-set victory over Stoke's Ian White.

"It's good to get through that because Ian's a good player," said Chisnall. "We both started well and scored well, and it came down to finishing in the end - we let each other in a couple of times.

"In the last three months I've practised really hard on doubles as that's what's been costing me matches, so it's good to see it pay off - and anything can happen now."

Wednesday sees the opening four games from the second round take place at the Citywest Hotel, headlined by ten-time World Grand Prix champion Phil Taylor's clash with Paul Nicholson.

Irish hero Connie Finnan, who knocked out Terry Jenkins on Monday, plays two-time winner James Wade, while number four seed Simon Whitlock takes on Ronnie Baxter and 2012 semi-finalist Wes Newton meets Gary Anderson, who had the first round's highest average.

Tickets are available from the Citywest Hotel by calling 01 401 0500 or in person from 6pm on each night of the event.

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Tickets
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partypoker.com World Grand Prix
Tuesday October 8
First Round
Wayne Jones 2-0 Mervyn King - Jones Video
Justin Pipe 2-0 Andy Smith - Pipe Video
Kevin Painter 2-0 Richie Burnett - Painter Video
Dave Chisnall 2-1 Ian White
Andy Hamilton 2-0 Kim Huybrechts - Hamilton Video
Stuart Kellett 0-2 Raymond van Barneveld - van Barneveld Video
Michael van Gerwen 2-0 John Part - van Gerwen Video
Adrian Lewis 2-1 Brendan Dolan - Lewis Video

Match Information
Wayne Jones 2-0 Mervyn King
First Set - 3-1 Jones
King made a superb start, winning the first set with a 13-darter on double 14 before Jones levelled, finishing 42 on double eight before breaking with a 180 and tops and then punishing two misses from King, at double eight, to pin double 18 for the set.
Second Set - 3-2 Jones
King hits a 180, but misses the bull to finish 90 as Jones finishes 72 on tops, before the roles are reversed in the second leg as the 2012 finalist steps in on tops to level. Jones hit a 180 and double eight to win leg three, with double 16 levelling for King as he forced a deciding leg in the set, which the Wolverhampton ace took with a brilliant 130 bullseye finish.

Justin Pipe 2-0 Andy Smith
First Set - 3-2 Pipe
Smith took the opening leg with a break of throw, only for Pipe to level and land double 16 to move ahead. Pipe missed his chance to take the set in the next, as Smith forced a decider on double eight, but the Taunton ace hit a 180 as he took the fifth leg to move a set up.
Second Set - 3-0 Pipe
Pipe lands double nine to win the opening leg, finishes a brilliant 160 to move 2-0 up in the set and then seals victory by pinning double four following misses from Smith, who only lands two from 13 finishing doubles.

Kevin Painter 2-0 Richie Burnett
First Set - 3-0 Painter
Painter makes the stronger start, winning the opening set without reply to put himself halfway to the second round, taking the opening leg on tops, breaking on double five in the second, following Burnett's missed doubles, and taking out double eight in the third, despite the Welshman landing a 180.
Second Set - 3-1 Painter
Burnett hit a 180 and finished a fine 14-darter on tops to win his first leg of the game, with Painter hitting the same bed to win the next two with 15-darters - hitting a 180 in one - as he moved 2-1 up, before sealing the win on double 12 when his opponent misses double 12 and six to keep the contest alive.

Dave Chisnall 2-1 Ian White
First Set - 3-1 Chisnall
Both players hit 180s as Chisnall takes the opening leg, before he kicks off the second with a maximum 160 and a 140 before finishing double eight to move two legs up. White hit a 180 and finished 109 to take leg three, but Chisnall took the fourth to win the second, landing a 180 and tops.
Second Set - 1-3 White
Chisnall took advantage of two misses at tops from White to win the second set's opener on double 15, before the Stoke ace levels on double 16, posts double eight to step in and win the third and the same bed to take the set 3-1.
Third Set - 3-1 Chisnall
Chisnall wins a nervy opener to the deciding set on double one, after White missed five doubles to lead, and the St Helens ace took advantage of three more misses to move 2-0 up on double five. Chisnall missed one match dart at double 16 for a 106 finish as White kept his hopes alive by hitting the same bed, but Chisnall took out 67 on tops in leg four to reach the last 16 for a second successive year.

Andy Hamilton 2-0 Kim Huybrechts
First Set - 3-1 Hamilton
Hamilton took out 120 to win the opening leg, with Huybrechts levelling by posting a 180 and a 56 finish, only for Hamilton to land a maximum and a 118 checkout to move 2-1 up before sealing the set with a 96 finish.
Second Set - 3-1 Hamilton
Hamilton's brilliant finishing continues as he wins the opening leg, despite a 180 from Huybrechts, with another 96 finish, and he then takes out 132 on the bull to move 2-0 up - remaining flawless on his winning doubles. The pair traded 180s in the third leg, as Huybrechts finished 65 on tops to hit back, but Hamilton opened the fourth with a 152 score, and hit double top to seal victory - again at the first time of asking to finish with six doubles from as many attempts.

Stuart Kellett 0-2 Raymond van Barneveld
First Set - 2-3 van Barneveld
Van Barneveld made a nerve-settling start, finishing 61 on double 18 in the first leg before doubling his lead on double eight, before Kellett broke back on double four. The debutant then finished 11 to level the set, with van Barneveld waiting on 32, and gave himself a chance to win the set in the decider - but missed a second double top when on 100, allowing the Dutchman in to finish double 16.
Second Set - 0-3 van Barneveld
The Dutchman storms through the second set, hitting two 180s in a superb 12-darter to win the opener, a 118 checkout in leg two and a 94 finish in the third leg, despite a Kellett 180, to seal a fine victory.

Michael van Gerwen 2-0 John Part
First Set - 3-0 van Gerwen
van Gerwen storms through the first set with a 109 average as he takes three successive legs, with Part hitting a 168 score to leave 16 in the opener as the Dutchman posts tops to lead, before opening the second leg with a 160 score and finishing 71 for a 12-darter, while he scores 120, 174 and takes out 107 on tops for another 12-dart leg to move ahead.
Second Set - 3-2 van Gerwen
Part capitalises on a missed double 18 from van Gerwen to lead in the second set, and though the Dutchman levels with a 13-darter, the Canadian punishes another miss by edging 2-0 up. Van Gerwen, though, hit double ten to level, and sealed victory in dramatic fashion in the set's deciding leg, scoring a 180 and 171 to leave 94, but missing double eight to allow the two-time finalist in needing 127 - only for Part to hit a treble 20 but hit treble three - not a 17 - to allow the reigning champion back in to seal the win on double four with a 104 average.

Adrian Lewis 2-1 Brendan Dolan
First Set - 3-1 Lewis
Lewis made a brilliant start with a 160 to open the match, and he also hits a 180 before finishing double two to move ahead, while a 90 checkout doubled his lead in leg two. Dolan took advantage of a slow start from the world number three by taking the third leg on double eight, but the Stoke ace sealed the set on double five in the fourth.
Second Set - 2-3 Dolan
Dolan hit a 180 and took out 74 to win the opening leg, and posted another maximum in leg two before Lewis levelled with a brilliant 151 finish. The pair then traded 64 finishes to send the set into a decider, with Lewis hitting a 177 but missing the bull for a 130 finish and two darts at double eight for the match, as Dolan hit double eight to square the contest and force a third set.
Third Set - 3-2 Lewis
Lewis opened the set with a 160 and hit double ten, before defying a 180 from Dolan in leg two by hitting a 174 score to leave double 12 for a 13-darter. Dolan took out 141 to save the game in leg three, and hit double ten to square the set and force a sudden-death leg, but Lewis scored 120, 177 and 100 in being first to a finish before landing double eight to seal victory.

Match Stats