Ritchie Edhouse first player assured of knockout stage spot at Grand Slam of Darts as Dave Chisnall eliminated

Ritchie Edhouse will play in the knockout stage of the Grand Slam of Darts next week. 'Madhouse' also won his second pool match Sunday afternoon and secured a spot in the top-2 of Group D.

The brand new European Championship winner began his tournament Saturday with a resounding 5-1 victory over Ross Smith. That was followed by a 5-2 win over Challenge Tour winner Connor Scutt.

It was a match decided on the doubles. Edhouse was not quite sharp on the doubles at 5/15, but Scutt (2/16) performed even weaker on the doubles. For example, Scutt missed six chances to break Edhouse in the first leg. Edhouse did lead a break in the fourth leg via double 4.

Scutt broke back via double 18, but then missed another three chances to keep his own leg. Edhouse found the double 2 and brought the score to 4-2. The 41-year-old Englishman then closed the match with a 13-darter.

Because Ross Smith won over Dave Chisnall earlier in the afternoon, Edhouse is certain of qualifying for the last sixteen. Chisnall, who earlier lost 5-0 to Scutt, already knows after two of the three matches that he is not going to make it through the group stage. That's because Smith and Scutt have yet to play each other. The winner of that match will advance to the remainder of the Grand Slam of Darts along with Edhouse. Edhouse can secure a group win in his last group match against Chisnall.