Defending Champion Michael Smith tumbled out of the event after a 5-1 defeat at the hands of James Wade, while Ryan Searle posted a perfect 9-darter – the sixth in Grand Slam history – as he advanced to the Top 16.

On a night when any one of three players in Group A could join Nathan Girvan on the sidelines, it turned out that Smith was to be the unlucky one as Krzysztof Ratajski grabbed second spot behind Wade. These two were joined in the knockout rounds by Josh Rock and Chris Dobey who emerged convincingly from Group B.

Luke Humphries sealed top spot in Group C with his third ton-plus average in three matches, while Gary Anderson recorded a similar average as he took second. Gerwyn Price led the qualifiers in Group D by recording a mammoth average of 112.30, including checkouts of 107, 108, and 121. Price was already guaranteed to advance without playing tonight, and he was going to be joined by the winner of the Ryan Searle/Nathan Rafferty clash. That turned out to be Searle, who triumphed 5-3.

Tomorrow sees American Stowe Buntz in action against Dave Chisnall.

Full details from the PDC website here

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