Grand Slam of Darts Groups E-H: Stars scrap in final pool games
Published:
Sam Barnard, Assistant Sports Editor | November 8, 2015
Groups E-H final games
- Grand Slam of Darts
- Monday, November 9th
- Play begins: 19:00-23:00 GMT
- Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
- Live on Sky Sports 1
All still to play for in final group games
After the first two round of Groups E-H games, just Gary Anderson has confirmed his spot in the second round of the Grand Slam of Darts, while Phil Taylor, James Wade and Robert Thornton will be unlucky to miss out.
GRAND SLAM OF DARTS | Missed the draw for the @Singha_Beer Grand Slam? Here it is in full: #SinghaGSOD pic.twitter.com/fD0bebBmLz
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 3, 2015
Stars of those four pools will get one more chance to finish in the top two on Monday evening, and official tournament betting partners Coral preview the action below in order of play (Groups in brackets)…
Jonny Clayton v Geert de Vos (G)
Welshman Clayton beat Jenkins and Belgian De Vos took Thornton all the way in their first matches, but neither have managed to take confidence from that, losing heavily to those respective opponents on Sunday afternoon.
PDC qualifier Clayton has impressed more than BDO world number three Foxy (8/11 favourite), so is a tempting 11/10 shout for victory and give himself a chance of qualifying.
Robbie Green v Martin Phillips (H)
Kong has played well in both his matches so far, but came up against an inspired Taylor, who averaged over 108 last time out.
With a win over Rodriguez in his first clash, Green certainly stands a great chance of qualifying and is the 4/6 odds-on favourite to see off 55-year-old Phillips (6/5).
Mark Webster v Michel van der Horst (F)
All The Spider (2/7) has to do is beat winless Dutchman Van der Horst (13/5) and hope that 2010 runner-up Wade can see off Brown.
The Invisible Man put up a good fight against in his first two battle, but Welshman Webster is a two-time quarter-finalist here, so is certainly fancied to make it through.
Gary Anderson v Andy Boulton (E)
Having already secured his place for the knockout rounds, the pressure is firmly off the Scot (1/8) and looks highly unlikely to be troubled by Boulton (5/1), who has lost both matches so far and cannot qualify.
Van Barneveld beat X-Factor 5-0, and Anderson is 7/2 to do the same, while he is the 4/1 tournament third-favourite.
Robert Thornton v Terry Jenkins (G)
These two veterans and former Grand Slam runner-ups can both make it to the second round, but only if the other Group G game goes their way.
The Thorn (8/13) has recently tasted major title success at the World Grand Prix, so the Scot is a tempting 9/2 price to win this clash 5-4, which may put Jenkins (13/10) out after he lost to Clayton.
Phil Taylor v Rowby-John Rodriguez (H)
Defending champion and six-time winner here Taylor continued making a statement that he will not give up the last major title he holds without a fight after his ridiculous 108.42 average against Green.
Taylor reviews his match with Green…
A 108 average is an "average average" according to @PhilTaylor! #AverageAverage
https://t.co/QjPMc3Fm90
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 8, 2015
The Power (1/8) has beaten next opponent Rodriguez (5/1) three times before, all convincingly, so is a tasty 11/4 shout to claim a 5-1 victory.
James Wade v Keegan Brown (F)
World Youth champion Brown was incredibly unlucky in his match against Webster as his darts simply couldn’t stick, but just managed to edge Van der Hoorst.
Keegan Brown delighted with his 5-4 victory over Michel van der Horst, checking out 115 to win it. #SinghaGSOD https://t.co/paeCqhzm5Z
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 8, 2015
Armageddon (21/10) will have to be on top form to beat Wade (4/11), but even that may not be enough to qualify from Group F and emulate his run to the quarters last year.
Raymond van Barneveld v Larry Butler (E)
Despite getting the second highest average percentage of the tournament before the Sunday evening session, Barney was unlucky to lose 5-3 to Anderson.
Butler is up for Barney challenge…
The Eagle has landed in Wolverhampton as @USAEagle180 gets the win!
https://t.co/VVuwPmpxd6
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 8, 2015
However, after whitewashing Boulton in his first game and looking in good form against the Flying Scotsman, the 2012 champion (1/4 favourite) should have too much quality for 1994 World Matchplay winner Butler (3/1), who defeated X-Factor too. The victor of this match will go through to the second round.
RECAP | Here is a full list of results from a breathtaking day 2 at the 2015 #SinghaGSOD pic.twitter.com/NmmYeWFifk
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 9, 2015
Related
Check out our darts archive
Coral’s top tip: Taylor looks back to his best, and is a great 11/4 price to beat Austrian Rodriguez 5-1
