Taylor Beats Youth To Victory

Phil Taylor laid down an early marker as he began his quest for a fourth Grand Slam of Darts title with a 5-1 victory against teenager James Hubbard.

Hubbard, 19, the son of former professional Vic, was making his televised debut and produced some impressive darts on the big stage.
But Taylor proved far too strong, averaging 96.47 on his way to a routine victory.
After the match, Taylor said: "James was difficult to beat today. He produced some consistent scoring and I think he will give Mervyn King a real battle tomorrow night."

Bates blitzed

Taylor's protégé and reigning world champion Adrian Lewis was given a scare before starting his campaign with a 5-4 victory over Martin Phillips.

Lewis had lost to the Welshman in last year's group stages but gained revenge this time around in a match where he hit five maximums.
Paul Nicholson made an impressive start to the tournament as he blitzed an out-of-sorts Barrie Bates in just 13 minutes.
Nicholson, making his third appearance in Wolverhampton will now face Wes Newton in eye-catching encounter on Monday evening.
Newton recovered from a stuttering to defeat Magnus Caris 5-2 in his opening Group F contest.
Co Stompe won the battle of the Dutchman courtesy of a 5-3 triumph over Vincent van der Voort, while Steve Beaton overcame Mervyn King by the same scoreline.
Also on Sunday afternoon, Mark Webster held of a brave challenge from Arron Monk to edge a high quality in the opener 5-4 and former world champion John Part brought an end to the session's action with a 5-2 success over Jan Dekker.