Grand Slam of Darts 2020 schedule: Wednesday session, featuring Wade, Van Den Bergh and Anderson

PDC
Wednesday, 18 November 2020 at 08:00
GRANDSLAM GP1 VANDENBERGH1A
Groups B, D, F and H are about to be wrapped up at the Grand Slam of Darts.
Adam Gawlas, Justin Pipe, Glen Durrant and Wayne Warren go into what will be their last day at the Grand Slam. They're all out, no matter what happens. Meanwhile, Simon Whitlock, Dave Chisnall, James Wade and Dimitri van den Bergh are through. The four group leaders will be out to seal top spot - but the real intrigue will be the four winner-take-all ties which make up the latter half of the session.
And, as a quick reminder, the general weirdness of this year means the show begins at 3pm, Coventry time.
Simon Whitlock will always have imagined that his game with Gary Anderson would be definitive; he wouldn't have foreseen himself thrashing the Scot, even with Anderson hobbled as he is. To get through in first place, the Wizard must now see off Adam Gawlas. The youngster pushed Ryan Searle all the way, and has one more chance this year to expand his portfolio of promising stage performances.
Dave Chisnall has cruised through Group D, on paper. In reality, he got a little lucky against Luke Humphries, before a more clinical display against Rob Cross. Seeing off Justin Pipe should at least keep him clear of an in-form Michael Smith in the knockout stage.
Glen Durrant will be back. For now, he just has to negotiate one last game from a Grand Slam to forget. James Wade will target a win to complete a 100 per cent group stage record for the sixth time. A dubious "prize" for doing that might be a Last 16 game against world champion Peter Wright.
Dimitri van den Bergh, who is averaging over 107 for the tournament, needs to win three legs to top the group. He'll want all five. This could be the last Grand Slam match Wayne Warren ever plays, thanks to the current state of amateur darts. It'd be fitting for the BDO world champion to get his first win, though it's a very tall order.
And so we reach the do-or-die showdowns. Wattimena or Heta? Anderson or Searle? Aspinall or Evans? Cross or Humphries?
First, we go to Group F. There's very little to separate Jermaine Wattimena and Damon Heta. The Aussie's average, which has stayed uncannily steady at a touch over 94, is a little better. But Wattimena's been a bit more effective on the doubles which, in a game likely to go to the wire, could prove decisive.
Gary Anderson and Ryan Searle last met almost a year ago, in an absolute cracker of a World Championship battle. Now they meet with plenty on the line again. This time, Anderson is the walking wounded, which certainly proved a distraction against Simon Whitlock and could have a telling impact here. Then again, we're talking about someone who has overcome all sorts of setbacks to be one of the very best, so Searle will be counting no chickens.
On paper, the Group H meeting between Nathan Aspinall and Ricky Evans is the easiest to call out of the high-stakes games. Aspinall has been solid throughout, despite defeat to Dimitri van den Bergh; Evans regressed in a topsy-turvy win over Wayne Warren. But Evans has shown he can play well enough to win, plus in this sort of situation, anything can happen. The Asp will have learned a lot from a disastrous decider against Glen Durrant last year.
Last but not least are Rob Cross and Luke Humphries, both of whom will strongly feel that a knockout berth is within their grasp. For Humphries, it's about recapturing the magic of his famous 2019 World Championship success against Cross. Voltage will want to recreate the form of the first eight legs of this tournament, before Dave Chisnall turned him over.

2020 Grand Slam of Darts Schedule

Wednesday November 18
Afternoon Session (1500 GMT)
15:10 Simon Whitlock v Adam Gawlas (B)
15:40 Dave Chisnall v Justin Pipe (D)
16:10 James Wade v Glen Durrant (F)
16:40 Dimitri Van den Bergh v Wayne Warren (H)
17:10 Jermaine Wattimena v Damon Heta (F)
17:40 Gary Anderson v Ryan Searle (B)
18:10 Nathan Aspinall v Ricky Evans (H)
18:40 Rob Cross v Luke Humphries (D)

Just in

Popular news