Paul Nicholson placed himself in strong contention for a spot in the last 16 of the William Hill Grand Slam of darts with a comfortable victory over Barrie Bates on Monday evening.

The 2010 Players Champion, who had suffered defeat against Brendan Dolan in his opening match, cruised to a 5-0 win over the Welshman to pick up his first points of the tournament.

“I felt like I needed to win emphatically tonight and I managed to do that,” said ‘The Asset’, who kicked off with a brilliant eleven dart leg, following three 140s with a clinical 81 checkout.

“I’m not usually the best of starters so the 11-darter to win the first leg was a real confidence booster for me. I’m going to treat my final group game against Andy Hamilton as a normal knock-out match.”

Nicholson took the second leg too, pinning double five for a break of throw.

The Australian hit double nine to take the third leg after just missing out on a 150 finish.

He almost took out 124 in the following leg, before cleaning up the remaining 16 to move into a 4-0 lead.

Nicholson completed the whitewash with a tidy 64 out-shot.

‘The Asset’ faces Andy Hamilton in his final Group F game on Wednesday.

Raymond van Barneveld lost out in a last leg decider in his Dutch dual against BDO World Champion Christian Kist.

However, ‘Barney’ is still well placed to progress from Group H ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Wayne Jones.

By Chris Murphy

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Simon Whitlock and Michael van Gerwen both grabbed their second victories of the weekend, while James Wade also triumphed on day two of the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

Whitlock edged a deciding leg to see off Kevin Painter, a win which moved him two points clear at the top of Group C.

“I scraped through there and I’m over the moon to win that one,” said Whitlock, the European Champion.

“I’m in good form but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

“I’m not safe yet and I’ll be going all out to win my next match.”

van Gerwen came out on top in a battle of in form players, with the World Grand Prix winner triumphing 5-3 over UK Open champion Robert Thornton.

“It wasn’t an easy game,” admitted van Gerwen.

“I started off well and then I started missing darts at doubles and it hurt me.

“It meant a lot to win that match because I had to work very hard for it.”

Wade produced a strong performance to see off Holland’s Jan Dekker, with the world number three running out a 5-1 victor.

“I did enough to win,” said Wade, who is back playing competitive darts for the first time since the World Grand Prix last month.

“This week is all about building for the future. The last few weeks have been a very important time since the Grand Prix.

“I’m in a good place, I’m happy and I’m looking forward to playing good darts again.”

Mervyn King all but booked his place in the knockout stage after a 5-3 victory over Arron Monk.

‘The Machine’ and King meet on Tuesday evening, when Monk takes on Dekker in the final round of games in Group D.

Both Wade and Monk still have the chance to qualify for the last 16.

Mark Webster’s bid for a last 16 place is still very much alive despite a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Phil Taylor in Group A.

The Welsh ace takes on Co Stompe on Tuesday evening in his final group game.

Stompe suffered his second defeat of the tournament, losing out to 2010 champion Scott Waites, while James Hubbard was denied a first senior TV victory by Dean Winstanley

Raymond van Barneveld made the perfect start to his Grand Slam campaign.

The Dutch legend defeated Mark Walsh 5-0 in the afternoon session to top Group H after the first round of games.

‘Barney’, who hit a fabulous 141 checkout in the opening leg of his triumph, faces reigning BDO World Champion Christian Kist on Monday.

Paul Nicholson will be looking for a win against Barrie Bates on Monday evening, after ‘The Asset’ was beaten by Brendan Dolan.

By Chris Murphy

Click the links to read full match reports on the following results:-

Raymond van Barneveld 5-0 Mark Walsh

James Wade 5-1 Jan Dekker

Simon Whitlock 5-4 Kevin Painter

Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Robert Thornton

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC