Michael van Gerwen joins Luke Littler in Wolverhampton knockouts
Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler will headline the second night of knockout action at the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts on Thursday night.
While Littler Danny Noppert and Niko Springer were already safely through the group stages, Van Gerwen, Josh Rock, Wessel Nijman, Connor Scutt and Lukas Wenig sealed their qualification to the knockout stages in Wolverhampton on Tuesday night.
Van Gerwen overcame his great rival Gary Anderson to clinch top spot in Group G, averaging 108.45 to set up an all-Dutch affair against Noppert in round two.
The three-time champion was imperious from start to finish against Anderson, condemning the Scottish icon to his first group stage exit in 18 Grand Slam appearances.
“I’m very glad to go through and top the table, but there’s still a lot of work to do in this tournament,” insisted the world No.3. “You always need to try and find the right balance and mentality, and I felt comfortable.
“I’m looking forward to playing Danny. He’s a fantastic player and he’s playing really well at the moment, but I know I can step up when it matters.”
Springer relinquished top spot in Group G following his 5-3 defeat to Women’s Series winner Beau Greaves, who won five straight legs to end her campaign on a high.
Rock and Nijman came through a star-studded Group F, with newly-crowned European champion Gian van Veen crashing out alongside Women’s World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton.
Reigning World Cup champion Rock produced a clinical display to dump out Van Veen, pinning five of his 10 attempts at double to celebrate a 5-2 success and claim top spot in Group F.
“Obviously Gian beat me here last year, so it was good to put that right,” reflected Rock, who will take on Scutt for a quarter-final berth on Thursday evening. “I put myself under so much pressure because I knew I had to win, and I think Gian did exactly the same thing, but thankfully I got over the line.”
Scutt broke new ground in Wolverhampton with a hard-fought 5-3 win against Czech No.1 Karel Sedlacek, which saw him progress to the last 16 of a TV ranking event for the second time.
Elsewhere in Group E, Littler maintained his impeccable record in Wolverhampton with a 5-1 drubbing of Daryl Gurney, who exits without a win to his name.
“I knew I needed a few legs to finish top, so I’m really happy to make it three wins from three,” claimed Littler, who has won all 10 of his matches on the WV Active Aldersley stage. “Daryl was there or thereabouts, but now it’s down to the business end.
“I always enjoy the longer format, and hopefully I can produce my best darts on Thursday.”
It was also a memorable night for Lukas Wenig, who continued his dream debut campaign at the Grand Slam to advance through Group H in top spot.
The 31-year-old converted a 167 checkout on his way to a 5-1 victory against Cam Crabtree in another straight shootout, and Wenig's reward will be a meeting against his fellow countryman Springer.
