James Wade

Wade holds his nerve to seal last 16 spot

Published: Thursday, 19 November 2009, 9:03AM

James Wade won a nine-dart shoot-out with Andy Hamilton to progress to the last 16 of the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts on Wednesday night, as Ted Hankey crashed out of the competition.

The final night of matches for Groups E-H at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall proved a dramatic one, with all four groups going to the wire.

Wade's Group H proved especially tight, with Robert Thornton's 5-2 win over Gary Mawson earning him a second round spot and leaving left-hander Wade, the number three seed, facing a crucial clash with Hamilton.

Hamilton produced a sensational display of finishing to defeat Wade 5-3 in their game, failing to miss a double and hitting finishes of 132, 130, 120, 102 and 64 in the victory.

That left the duo tied on four points and also on +2 leg difference, ensuring the shoot-out, which Wade won by 361 points to 277 thanks to a 180 with his final three of the nine darts each threw.

"I played well in the first two games and then lost to Andy so it was strange," said Wade. "I'm happy to get through and I'm looking forward to playing Terry Jenkins on Friday, because we always have good games."

Jenkins had earlier topped Group G despite a 5-4 loss to Adrian Lewis, while Darin Young came from 3-1 down to defeat Denis Ovens 5-3 and claim second spot and a clash with Thornton in round two.

BDO World Champion Ted Hankey, meanwhile, was knocked out of the tournament with a 5-4 loss to Simon Whitlock, who came from 4-1 down to take victory with a 146 checkout in the deciding leg.

Hankey missed one dart for a 5-2 win which would have seen the pair also face a nine-dart shoot-out, but ultimately Whitlock took the win to top Group E unbeaten.

Scott Waites sealed second place in Group E with an impressive whitewash of Wayne Mardle, which was capped by a 140 checkout.

Waites meets Gary Anderson in the last 16, after the Scot topped Group F with a 5-2 win over Co Stompe, while Steve Beaton came from 4-2 down to edge out Kevin McDine 5-4 and qualify.

The second round begins on Thursday, with the four games including reigning champion Phil Taylor against Colin Lloyd and Mervyn King's battle with Raymond van Barneveld.

PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts

Wednesday November 18

Groups E-H Final Games

Adrian Lewis 5-4 Terry Jenkins

Gary Anderson 5-2 Co Stompe

Robert Thornton 5-2 Gary Mawson

Scott Waites 5-0 Wayne Mardle

Andy Hamilton 5-3 James Wade

Simon Whitlock 5-4 Ted Hankey

Steve Beaton 5-4 Kevin McDine

Darin Young 5-3 Denis Ovens

Nine-Dart Shoot-Out - James Wade qualifies in second from Group H

James Wade 361 (96, 85, 180)

Andy Hamilton 277 (100, 77, 100)