By Alex Moss
14 NOVEMBER 2016 • 11:30PM
BDO number one Glen Durrant and World Trophy holder Darryl Fitton booked their places in the last 16 of the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts after prevailing in winner-takes-all clashes tonight.
The final matches in Groups A, D, E and H took place at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, with defending champion Michael van Gerwen and reigning PDC world champion Gary Anderson both finishing top of their respective groups.
Benito van de Pas took top spot in Group H, while Phil Taylor finished in pole position in Group D despite a surprising 5-0 defeat to Darren Webster in his final group game.
Current World Masters champion Durrant booked his place in the last 16 with a 5-0 whitewash over Nathan Derry.
The BDO number one, making his debut in the cross-code tournament, averaged 97.60 and took out 150 as he secured runners-up spot in Group E.
Anderson, runner-up in the Grand Slam in 2011, made it three wins from three to top Group E with a comfortable 5-2 win over Alan Norris.
Van Gerwen came through the group stages with maximum points, as a 5-1 win against Max Hopp saw him top Group A.
The defeat for Hopp meant he was relying on the result in the final Group A match between Brendan Dolan and Martin Adams, which saw the former come from behind to pip the German to the runners-up spot.
Three-time BDO world champion Adams needed to win 5-2 or better, and at 3-2 up still had a chance of getting the result he needed to reach the knockout stages for a second consecutive year.
But Northern Ireland’s Dolan then reeled off three legs on the spin to triumph 5-3 and snatch the last qualifying place up for grabs in Group A.
Adrian Lewis finished with a tournament average of more than 102 as he bowed out of the Grand Slam in the group stages for the sixth time in 10 years.
Van de Pas was a 5-2 victor over the two-time world champion to finish top of Group H with maximum points, while Lewis left Wolverhampton without a point to his name.
Chris Dobey continued his breakthrough year after toppling former world champion Scott Mitchell 5-3 to finish runner-up in Group H and progress to the last 16 of a TV tournament for the first time.
Six-time Grand Slam winner Taylor had already qualified for the knockout stage heading into his final Group D encounter with Webster, but was handed a 5-0 thrashing by the Norfolk thrower, ranked 40th on the PDC Order of Merit.
The final qualifying place up for grabs in Group D went to the BDO’s Fitton, who battled back from 4-2 down to beat Ian White 5-4 in a nervy final game of the day.
SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts Order of Play
Monday, November 14
Adrian Lewis (100.19) 2-5 Benito van de Pas (100.90) (H)
Gary Anderson (97.33) 5-2 Alan Norris (94.60) (E)
Phil Taylor (87.08) 0-5 Darren Webster (96.35) (D)
Michael van Gerwen (95.93) 5-1 Max Hopp (87.37) (A)
Brendan Dolan (80.87) 5-3 Martin Adams (80.96) (A)
Chris Dobey (92.74) 5-3 Scott Mitchell (92.61) (H)
Nathan Derry (76.20) 0-5 Glen Durrant (97.60) (E)
Ian White (88.86) 4-5 Darryl Fitton (87.27) (D)
Group A
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Michael van Gerwen (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | +11 | 6 |
| Brendan Dolan (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| Max Hopp | 3 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 2 |
| Martin Adams | 3 | 0 | 3 | -7 | 0 |
Group D
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Phil Taylor (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
| Darryl Fitton (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 4 |
| Darren Webster | 3 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 2 |
| Ian White | 3 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 2 |
Group E
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Gary Anderson (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | +9 | 6 |
| Glen Durrant (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | +8 | 4 |
| Nathan Derry | 3 | 1 | 2 | -9 | 2 |
| Alan Norris | 3 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 0 |
Group H
| P | W | L | +/- | Pts | |
| Benito van de Pas (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | +8 | 6 |
| Chris Dobey (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
| Scott Mitchell | 3 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| Adrian Lewis | 3 | 0 | 3 | -9 | 0 |
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