There was drama at day 3 of the partypoker.com darts grand prix as Phil “The Power” Taylor went out to world number 19 Robert Thornton. The Daily Shift’s Joel Slattery has more…
Defending champion Phil Taylor made a sensational exit from the 2012 Partypoker.com World Darts Grand Prix last night at the hands of Scotland’s Robert Thornton. The Scot who won Player’s Championship Tour event last weekend continued his good form beating the world number one in five sets.

Lets play darts: Day three at the Partypoker.com darts Grand Prix

Taylor, the 10-time champion of the event, missed five darts to win the match in the last leg of the match. Thornton was able to keep his cool and seal the victory hitting double top. ”The Power” looked to be in control going into the deciding set having won the fourth set at his ease, winning three straight legs. However, the world ranked number 19 fought his way back to win a thrilling fifth set 3-2.

Ireland’s Brendan Dolan opened the nights play by continuing his good form, beating Holland’s Vincent van der Voort 3-1. Dolan was comfortable throughout, losing only four legs in the whole match. The Irishman made a lightning quick start winning the first leg in 13 darts and checking out 106 in the second leg. He now progresses to the last 8 where he will play Justin Pipe.

Pipe progressed courtesy of a 5 set win over Kevin “The Artist” Painter in an all English affair. Pipe’s throw was broken in the very first leg but he powered back to win the first set 3-2. They continued trading sets as no man could get the upper hand. At two sets all the match came down to the decider for a place in the quarter final and at least £12,500 (€15,510) in price money. Painter broke in the first leg before losing three in a row and exiting the competition.

The evening’s entertainment was rounded off by the intriguing contest between Mervyn King and Dave Chisnall. King was exceptional on his starting doubles, giving him a head start in nearly every leg. Chisnall was struggling to find his rhythm and lost 6 out of the first 7 legs. However, the beauty of set play means the score stood at 2-0 and Chisnall was not out yet.

In fact, the young Englishman came back to win set three in the deciding leg. The fourth set went down to the wire also. Chisnall had a shot to win it but couldn’t take the opportunity. King made no mistake to finish the game and progress to the business end of the tournament.

The quarter-finals take place on Friday with the second round matches concluding tonight.

Tonight’s order of play is as follolws:

Andy Hamilton v Steve Beaton
Colin Osbourne v Paul Nicholson
Adrian Lewis v Michael van Gerwin
Wes Newton v Ian White

*Lead image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons