Wright knocked out on day four of Grand Slam of Darts
Peter Wright failed to qualify from his group on day four of the BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts.
The World Champion lost 5-2 to Devon Petersen, which meant he was knocked out of the tournament on leg difference.
It meant that Ian White joined Petersen in the last 16, becoming the first player to lose both their opening matches and qualify for the knockout stages.
Elsewhere, day four of the Grand Slam of Darts saw:
- Gerwyn Price survive another scare to qualify with Welsh counterpart Jonny Clayton
- Adam Hunt repeat White’s feat to join Michael van Gerwen in qualifying from Group A
- Michael Smith and Jose De Sousa come through Group C
Wright shocked as Petersen and White go through
Ian White and Dirk van Duijvenbode took to the stage first in Group E, and White produced one of the best performances of the week when he needed it most.
Having lost both his games so far, a big win for White would be the only way he would stay in the tournament. After two holds of throw, Diamond held once more with an excellent 120 finish, with the Dutchman on 51.
That seemed to inspire White, who produced and 17 darter to break, and 13 darter to hold. He then won the match with a fantastic 132 finish, hitting a 108 average and giving himself a chance to qualify.
That meant Wright, after losing to van Duijvenbode on Monday, needed three legs to qualify for the knockout stages, while Petersen needed three legs to ensure he’d top Group E.
The match itself was a cagey affair, and turned in the fourth leg. With Petersen leading 2-1, Wright missed 10 darts to level the contest. The African Warrior punished him eventually, hitting double two after missing five himself to break.
Two holds saw the match get to 4-2, and Petersen missed two at double 16 to send Wright home. Snakebite came back for 155 to stay in the tournament, and missed double 19 to take it out, which would have been as sensational as the 140 he took out against Noel Malicdem at the World Championships last year. However, the African Warrior eventually found the 32, to knock out the World Champion.
Petersen will play Damon Heta in the last 16, while White becomes the first player to lose both their opening matches at the Grand Slam and still qualify for the knockout stages. He faces James Wade in his next contest.
Price survives match darts again to qualify with Clayton
Gerwyn Price qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts last 16 by the skin of his teeth, after Welsh World Cup teammate Jonny Clayton breezed into the knockout stages.
The Ferret showed his class against Mikuru Suzuki. The BDO World Champion’s hopes of qualifying were dashed in the opening two legs, as 94 and 74 checkouts from Clayton saw him go 2-0 up.
The Welshman’s checkouts continued to serve him well, hitting a 68 to go 3-0 ahead. Despite missing four for the fourth leg, he found double two for a double break, before ending the match with a spectacular 110 checkout to take a 5-0 win over the Miracle.
This meant that Clayton was through to the next phase of the tournament, and that Price v Ryan Joyce would be a straight shootout to see who’d join him. What followed was arguably the game of the tournament so far.
The Iceman struck the first blow, pinging a 124 outshot to break in the first leg. Joyce would answer straight back, hitting a 126 to level at 1-1.
After two holds, including a 116 from Price, Relentless lived up to his name. A 15 dart hold was followed by a stunning 107 checkout to take a 4-2 lead, and go within one of knocking out the two time back to back defending champion.
However, Price was made of stern stuff. After Joyce squandered a dart at bull for the match, he took out 50 on tops to get the game back on throw. A 15 dart hold, followed by a 14 dart break of throw, saw the Welshman get over the line averaging 106.3 during the contest. The roar that Price let out after the match said it all, as he topped his group at the Slam for third straight year. He faces Nathan Aspinall in the last 16, while Clayton takes on Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Hunt hunts down Clemens and Cullen to join MvG
The only certainty coming into night four of the Grand Slam of Darts was that Michael van Gerwen would finish top of group A.
Gabriel Clemens was second in the group going into tonight, and faced Adam Hunt in the first game in the group. The German Giant started brighter, hitting two 14 darters to take a 2-0 lead.
This meant that Hunt needed to win five legs on the spin to stay in with any chance of qualifying. He levelled with a 16 and 15 darter himself to get it back on throw at 2-2, before a 60 outshot saw him take the lead.
The Hunter then found double eight to break the Clemens throw again, before firing in a fantastic leg, leaving 28 after 12. He hit double 14 with his last dart in hand, winning the match 5-2 and knocking Clemens out of the tournament.
This meant that Joe Cullen needed to either win, or lose 5-4, to join MvG in the semis. After two holds of throw, The Green Machine looked to have taken control, winning two straight legs to 3-1 up.
Cullen though would keep himself in the contest. A 15 dart immediate break back was followed by van Gerwen missing two for the leg, and The Rockstar hit double five to take it to 3-3. MvG would hold to move 4-3, but Cullen missed six darts to get the leg he needed to take the runner up spot. Van Gerwen would find double 18 to close out the victory, which saw Hunt become the second man in history to lose both his opening group matches, and make the last 16.
Van Gerwen will play Gary Anderson, while Hunt’s reward is a meeting with Simon Whitlock.
Smith and De Sousa come through Group C
Michael Smith and Jose De Sousa qualified as group C winner and runner up respectively on day four of the Grand Slam of Darts.
De Sousa opened the evening with a comfortable 5-1 win over Lisa Ashton. The Special One lived up to his name, hitting three 180s in the first three legs, as he took a 3-0 lead.
The Lancashire Rose would get a leg on the board, hitting a 64 checkout for a 15 dart hold. However, De Sousa found a 13 dart hold, and a 62 checkout for the match, to complete a win which saw him hit six maximums overall.
The leg Ashton won meant Smith was already through to the knockout stages before taking to the stage against Krzysztof Ratjaski. However, the Bully Boy laid down a marker to his last 16 opponent, World Cup partner Rob Cross.
After two holds of throw, Ratajski found an 81 checkout to break, after Smith had missed two legs. This seemed to annoy the Englishman, who levelled before hitting a 71 checkout to go 3-2 up, sending him and De Sousa through to the last 16.
Smith then broke throw on tops, before finding an 11 darter to end the match, hitting a massive 106.9 in the process. He takes on Cross in the last 16, while De Sousa will face Dave Chisnall.
Grand Slam of Darts Day Four Results
Group A
Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Joe Cullen
Adam Hunt 5-2 Gabriel Clemens
Group C
Michael Smith 5-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Jose De Sousa 5-1 Lisa Ashton
Group E
Devon Petersen 5-2 Peter Wright
Ian White 5-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Group G
Gerwyn Price 5-4 Ryan Joyce
Jonny Clayton 5-0 Mikuru Suzuki
Day Five Fixtures
4 x last 16 (19.00 GMT start)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jonny Clayton
James Wade v Ian White
Simon Whitlock v Adam Hunt
Dave Chisnall v Jose De Sousa
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