Grand Slam of Darts: Phil Taylor and James Wade start in style in Wolverhampton

Phil Taylor opened his bid for a sixth Grand Slam of Darts title in impressive fashion, routing Richie George 5-0 at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

‘The Power’ quickly put himself on top in Group E of the event as he eased to victory over George, the son of BDO legend Bobby who was amongst the crowd at the venue, with an average of 100.20.

The Stoke thrower didn’t allow his opponent a chance at a double in the opening two legs but George did have three darts at double tops in the third. However, he missed them all and Taylor didn’t give him another sniff.

“Richie is a better player than that,” he told Sky Sports after completing the win with a 107 checkout that was finished off with a successful shot at double 16.

“He let me off in one leg there. He scored really well, hitting a 180, but missed three darts at double. You’ve got to take your chances.”

The other match in the group saw Christian Kist record a 5-2 victory over Andy Hamilton, the Dutchman making the most of his rival’s double troubles to win the last three legs on the spin.

Hamilton had his opportunities, missing the bull and two attempts at double eight in the sixth leg and then failing to take out both double 18 and double nine in the next, allowing Kist to step in and clean up with double eight.

Wade impressive

Live Grand Slam of Darts

In Group G, James Wade dropped just a solitary leg as he recorded a 5-1 result against Jamie Caven in the last match of the night.

‘The Machine’ – fresh off an amazing comeback win over Mervyn King in the final of the Unibet Masters in Edinburgh last Sunday -  was successful with five of his six efforts at a double, while also averaging over 99.

King, meanwhile, came out on the right side of a last-leg thriller this time around, triumphing 5-4 over Tony O’Shea, who hit four 180s in defeat, when he took out 16 to settle a match he had never led until the final dart.

Michael Smith and Peter Wright both recorded 5-2 victories in Group F over Simon Whitlock, who led 2-0 before losing the next five legs in succession, and Brendan Dolan respectively.

There are also joint-leaders in Group H, Stephen Bunting one of them after he marked his Grand Slam debut with a 5-1 success against Wesley Harms, whose only leg came when he took out 106.

Gary Anderson matched Bunting’s result as he cruised past Dean Winstanley, the latter paying the price for hitting just one of his eight attempts at a double.