Terry Jenkins has qualified for the knock-out stages of the Grand Slam on a nail-biting night in Wolverhampton.
The Team Unicorn star, who has been out of sorts for most of the year, started the night knowing that he could finish top or even bottom of Group D.
But after main rival Justin Pipe blew it big-time, Jenkins went into the all Unicorn clash with James Wade knowing that victory would see him through…..and incredibly, he did just that!
‘The Bull’ came from 1-3 down to beat Wade 5-3….and not only that, he ended up topping the group as well! He pipped Wade to top spot because of their head-to-head clash, as their leg difference was the same!
And Jenkins will now play Wayne Jones in the 2nd Round, while James Wade faces a massive all Unicorn showdown with Gary Anderson.
Despite, losing his first match to Nigel Heydon, Anderson finished up winning Group C after a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Wolverhampton’s Jones.
Anderson was never in trouble after racing into a 3-0 lead and he finished well to guarantee his spot in those knock-out stages….and what a match that will be on Thursday night against Jones!
But Jenkins was the headline grabber!
“It was a real roller-coaster night for me. It looked like Justin Pipe was going to beat Dave Chisnall, which would have made it virtually impossible for me to even qualify. I would have had to beat James 5-0 or 5-1. Now I have to ride my luck and I know I will get better over the longer format.”
Poor Pipe will forever wonder just how he failed to make it…..if he won, he was through whatever happened elsewhere. His match with Chisnall went to a deciding leg.
Pipe needed just 17 to win, but going for single one to leave D8, he inexplicably hit a single 20 to bust his score and Chisnall snatched the win.
And Jenkins looked down and out when he fell 3-1 behind against Wade…..a second 180 helped him get one leg back, then amazingly Wade had darts to win the next three legs but ended up losing them all.
He missed D14 for a 121, D10 for a 128 and bull for a 161…..Jenkins kept plugging away, as he got back to 4-4 and won it with two double ‘tops’ and a 100 check-out!
It was amazing tungsten tension!
Sadly, Raymond van Barneveld’s Grand Slam darting disaster ended with another defeat…..he was beaten 5-2 by BDO No.3 Dean Winstanley.
The Dutchman has lost all three matches in a group that he was favourite to win…..he will know that he has to get his act together quickly, because the Players Championship Finals are just round the corner and after that, it is the big one – the World Championship in London.
Winstanley took out 97 and 100 in two dart finishes and from 2-2, the Yorkshireman took control, hitting three 180s and winning three consecutive legs to confirm that he wins Group B.
Elsewhere on a dramatic Tuesday night at the Wolves Civic, Dutch youngster Michael van Gerwen qualified at the expense of Tony O’Shea….in a straight shoot-out, Van Gerwen won 5-2, clinching the victory with a brilliant 144 finish.
And Van Gerwen will now play Ted Hankey in the 2nd Round, after a brilliant performance from ‘The Count’.
It was the same winner-takes-all scenario between Hankey and Ian White, but the two-times World Champion was at his brilliant best…..he averaged 100 and took out a fabulous 161 in winning 5-2.
Tuesday Grand Slam group results:
Raymond van Barneveld 2-5 Dean Winstanley
Scott Waites 5-3 Mark Walsh
Brendan Dolan 5-3 Nigel Heydon
Justin Pipe 4-5 Dave Chisnall
Tony O’Shea 2-5 Michael van Gerwen
James Wade 3-5 Terry Jenkins
Ted Hankey 5-2 Ian White
Gary Anderson 5-1 Wayne Jones
Wednesday Group fixtures:
Adrian Lewis v Vincent van der Voort
Wes Newton v Barrie Bates
Steve Beaton v James Hubbard
John Part v Arron Monk
Co Stompe v Martin Phillips
Phil Taylor v Mervyn King
Mark Webster v Jan Dekker
Paul Nicholson v Magnus Caris
By STUART PYKE at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Photos courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC