Michael van Gerwen (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Darts results: Michael van Gerwen produces massive average at Grand Slam of Darts

By Sporting Life

Darts

Wed November 13, 2019 · 5y ago

Michael van Gerwen averaged in excess of 111 as he maintained his perfect record in the 2019 Grand Slam of Darts on Tuesday night.

Van Gerwen was already sure of a place in the knockout stages of the competition, but still produced the goods in a 5-2 defeat of Ross Smith - who did well to avoid a more comprehensive defeat.

Starting with a 100 finish for a 12-dart leg, this was van Gerwen throwing with total freedom and he soon doubled up by hitting tops for a 13-dart second leg.

Smith got down to 66 after just nine darts but still lost the third leg without a look at double, but a rare miss from van Gerwen in the next afforded him a chance which he took to get on the board.

Van Gerwen's response was to take out 110 for another 12-dart leg, and while Smith managed to take the next, another 12-darter completed a near flawless performance from the tournament favourite.

Mighty Mike averaged 111.38 and it took an average of 101.10 from Smith to keep the scoreline respectable in a quickfire encounter.

While Group A was always likely to be won by van Gerwen, the runner-up spot went down to the wire with Adrian Lewis and Jim Williams going head-to-head for a last-16 place.

From 3-1 down, Lewis showed the class of a two-time world champion to rattle off four legs in succession, keeping alive his hopes of reaching the final of the event for the first time in his career.

Jackpot completed the turnaround with a 113 checkout, showing flashes of the brilliance he's searched so hard for in recent seasons.

Wonder Web through with Anderson

Darren Webster confirmed his place in the last-16 as he beat Group D winner Gary Anderson 5-4 in a game which passed in a flash despite going the distance.

After Dave Parletti had beaten William O'Connor 5-2, Webster only needed to win a leg in defeat to advance, but did much more than that in an enthralling if light-hearted encounter.

Webster was 2-0 and 3-1 down, but after getting that vital leg on the board really hit his straps, taking out 113 to get within one and 110 to square the game, before taking the lead with a neat 64 finish.

Anderson levelled before throwing his fourth maximum in the decider, but the tide had turned and Webster hit tops to win with a 100-plus average.

Price is right

Gerwyn Price made it three-from-three to top Group C, beating Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-2.

The Belgian youngster needed to win to have any chance of progressing, and the four darts he missed for the first leg really hurt his prospects of doing so.

Price took advantage and was 3-0 up after a 110 finish, eventually going on to win with plenty to spare as he took out 97 on tops.

Robert Thornton took second place in the group courtesy of a 5-3 win against Mikuru Suzuki, finishes of 130 and 103 the highlights.

D is for drama

There was drama in Group D, as both matches went the distance to leave three players on four points each.

James Wade topped the standings despite a 5-4 defeat to Steve Lennon, which wasn't enough for the latter because Ian White had already secured a 5-4 victory over Wesley Harms.