World Grand Prix - Report 1st Day

Phil Taylor made a brilliant start to his bid for an 11th PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix title with a straight sets win over youngster Michael Smith on Monday night - but Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock crashed out in Dublin.

Taylor, the reigning champion in the double-start event, dropped only two legs as he swept past the 22-year-old debutant - who hit two 180s in the game's opening leg but was unable to stop the world number one's charge.
Taylor hit a 165 score of his own to set up double eight for a 14-darter to win the game's opener, and after Smith levelled the Stoke great finished 84 and then took out 94 on the bull to win the first set.
An 82 finish from Taylor gave him the lead in set two, and he then fired in a stunning 167 checkout to move 2-0 up.
Smith finished 113 to keep the game alive, but Taylor followed up a 180 with a 106 finish to seal the victory, ending with an impressive 100.73 average in the double-start format.
The win came only a fortnight after Taylor had been knocked out in the quarter-finals of the European Championship by Brendan Dolan, but he insists he is in the right shape to take the 100,000 pound first prize.

"I felt I was ready for this and I've got a massive chance of winning this title again now," said Taylor, who now plays Robert Thornton in round two on Wednesday night. I've had a bad couple of months and wasn't quite ready for the European Championship but I'm trying to get back on top. I'm getting there and my mind's right. I've got Robert in the next game and will have to improve again."

Smith is managed by world number four Anderson and has won two senior titles already, and Taylor admitted to being impressed by the St Helens youngster.

"For him to come up on stage and throw two 180s in the first leg shows his class and he's one to watch in the next couple of years," said Taylor. "He's very determined to win and he has got a good future ahead of him."

Anderson had earlier been knocked out of the tournament himself as last year's runner-up Brendan Dolan produced another superb display in front of the Dublin crowd with a straight sets win over the Scot.

Dolan, who had hit a nine-darter in his run to the final 12 months ago, celebrated the anniversary of that achievement by edging both sets 3-2 to move into the last 16.

"It's a huge relief for me to win this game," admitted Dolan. "There was a bit of extra pressure on me because I reached the final last year.I'm in the second round now and that's the next obstacle. I've got to take one game at a time, like I did last year, but with the crowd behind me and the confidence I've got in my game at the moment there's nothing to say I can't go on to win this."

World number five Simon Whitlock, who won the European Championship a fortnight ago, was defeated 2-1 by Justin Pipe in their clash, with the Taunton thrower recovering from losing the second set to take the decider 3-0 to progress.

"I lost my concentration after that first set and it nearly cost me, but I got myself together again for the third set," said Pipe. "I won't make that mistake again and I'll look forward the second round. Last year, I was looking forward to my debut in the event so much but then I had a long weekend and won my first Players Championship on the Sunday and was mentally drained by the time I went on stage. This time I was more prepared and it worked out well for me. I'd beaten Simon in Championship League Darts last week and I think that may have been playing on his mind a bit.
"Winning my group in Championship League has ben a big boost for me. Last year was a big year of learning in the TV events and this year I really want to push on and do well."

Pipe will now play Kevin Painter in the second round, after the Players Championship Finals winner whitewashed Belgian debutant Kim Huybrechts 2-0, producing some superb scoring as he won six legs without reply.

"I'd never beaten Kim before and maybe he went up there thinking he was going to have an easy ride, but he missed a few doubles," said Painter.
"My scoring was good and if, at the start of the day, you offered me a 2-0 win against someone like Kim then I'd have bitten your hand off. He's one of the form players, alongside the likes of Dave Chisnall, in recent months and I've not been doing a lot. Justin knows that I can play good darts and he won't be taking me lightly. The bookies have written me off tonight and they can keep doing that - I love it. I'm happy with that and it's nice to be in the second round."

Dave Chisnall erased the memory of his first round loss last year, when he missed 13 darts to defeat Alan Tabern, by seeing off debutant Dean Winstanley in the deciding leg of a three-set contest.

"I didn't make it easy for myself and when I started missing doubles my mind went back to last year but he let me in and I took my chance at the end," said Chisnall. "I've been playing well recently even though I've not been at my best in TV tournaments, but I'm trying to put that right by doing well in this competition. I can relax now I'm through the first round, the format's longer in the second round so I'll look forward to a good game."

Chisnall now plays Mervyn King, who edged out Terry Jenkins in a thrilling contest which saw the number eight seed miss three darts for a straight sets win and two further darts to take the decider before King finished double 16 to edge through.

"I thought I had Terry dead and buried in the first set but he came back and won it, then in the second set he raced away - but I was telling myself that I could still win the game," said King. "I always believe when I get on a roll that I can come back like that - it was one of those topsy-turvey games and I was so happy that the winning double went in. I've had two years of everything going against me, with my father dying and then getting acute tennis elbow, to the stage where I couldn't even really a throw a dart, and then I've had six months of playing well but not getting the results to show for it. I'm out of the top 16 and fighting with a few other players to get back in there, so it feels sweet to get this result and I'm looking ahead now - I don't want this to end in the second round on Wednesday."

Ireland's William O'Connor came close to causing another upset in his clash with Vincent van der Voort, who came from a set down to take a 2-1 victory, but not before the Limerick youngster missed double 18 to snatch the win in the deciding leg.

"It was a really hard battle for both of us," admitted the Dutchman. "William was good and he was enjoying it in front of his crowd. I played some horrible darts at times but I won."

The night's other game saw UK Open champion Thornton follow up his win in Sunday's Players Championship with a 2-1 win over Mark Walsh, as he came from a set down to win six straight legs in setting up his clash with Taylor.







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