James Wade sealed his spot in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday after grabbing his second group stage victory, while Raymond van Barneveld, Simon Whitlock, Michael van Gerwen and Robert Thornton all also won to maintain one-hundred-percent records in the round robin.
Wade followed up Saturday’s success over Scotland’s Peter Wright with victory over another competitor from north of the border, beating Gary Anderson 5-3 to ensure qualification from Group B.
Defending champion van Barneveld edged out Tony O’Shea 5-4 to remain top of Group E ahead of his decisive match with Mervyn King on Monday evening.
Whitlock triumphed 5-1 against Mark Webster in Group G, where the prospect of both players progressing remains a possibility ahead of Monday’s games against Wes Newton and Ross Smith.
van Gerwen put himself in pole position to qualify from Group D with a 5-1 win over Dean Winstanley. The Dutchman faces Kim Huybrechts on Tuesday, when compatriot Vincent van der Voort faces Winstanley. van der Voort is still in with an outside chance of qualification if both Dutch men win.
Thornton overcame the threat of Justin Pipe with a 5-2 win but may still need to beat Andy Hamilton on Monday to be certain of a place in the knockout stage.
Paul Nicholson can also still qualify despite defeat to Phil Taylor. ‘The Asset’, who saw off Kevin Painter in his opening match, faces a winner-takes-all showdown with Stuart Kellett on Tuesday.
Match reports are available on the players’ individual websites or via the links below.
JAMES WADE 5-3 Gary Anderson (Group B)
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN 5-1 Dean Winstanley (D)
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD 5-4 Tony O’Shea (E)
ROBERT THORNTON 5-2 Justin Pipe (F)
SIMON WHITLOCK 5-1 MARK WEBSTER (G)
By Chris Murphy