Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock and Wessel Nijman sealed their qualification to the knockout stages of the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts, as the round-robin\u00a0phase reached a dramatic conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day Four of the \u00a3650,000 event saw Groups E-H conclude at Wolverhampton’s WV Active Aldersley, with reigning champion Luke Littler setting up a blockbuster tie against Nijman in Round Two on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Littler, Danny Noppert and Niko Springer were already assured of their qualification prior to Tuesday’s play, and they were joined in the knockout stages by Van Gerwen, Rock, Nijman, Connor Scutt and Lukas Wenig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Gerwen overcame his great rival Gary Anderson to clinch top spot in Group G, averaging 108.45 to set up an all-Dutch affair against Noppert in Round Two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-time champion was imperious from start to finish against Anderson, condemning the Scottish icon to his first group stage exit in 18 Grand Slam appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m very glad to go through and top the table, but there’s still a lot of work to do in this tournament,”\u00a0insisted the world number three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You always need to try and find the right balance and mentality, and I felt comfortable tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m looking forward to playing Danny. He’s a fantastic player and he’s playing really well at the moment, but I know I can step up when it matters.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Springer relinquished top spot in Group G following his 5-3 defeat to\u00a0Women’s Series winner Beau Greaves, who won five straight legs to end her campaign on a high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rock and Nijman came through a star-studded Group F, with newly crowned European Champion Gian van Veen crashing out alongside Women’s World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Veen was in pole position following back-to-back wins over the weekend, but Nijman’s whitewash win over Ashton set up a winner-takes-all clash against Rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reigning World Cup champion Rock produced a clinical display to dump out Van Veen, pinning five of his ten attempts at double to celebrate a 5-2 success and claim top spot in Group F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Obviously Gian beat me here last year, so it was good to put that right,” reflected Rock, who will take on Connor Scutt for a quarter-final berth on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I put myself under so much pressure because I knew I had to win, and I think Gian did exactly the same thing, but thankfully I got over the line.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scutt broke new ground in Wolverhampton with a hard-fought 5-3 win against Czech number one Karel Sedlacek, which saw him progress\u00a0to the last 16 of a TV ranking event for the second time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere in Group E, Littler maintained his impeccable record in Wolverhampton with a 5-1 drubbing of Daryl Gurney, who exits without a win to his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I knew I needed a few legs to finish top, so I’m really happy to make it three wins from three,” claimed Littler, who has won all ten of his matches on the Grand Slam stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Daryl was there and thereabouts tonight, but now it’s down to the business end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I always enjoy the longer format, and hopefully I can produce my best darts on Thursday.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also a memorable night for Lukas Wenig, who continued his dream debut campaign at the Grand Slam to advance through Group H in top spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 31-year-old converted a 167 checkout on his way to a 5-1 victory against Cam Crabtree in another straight shoot-out, and Wenig’s reward will be a meeting against his fellow countryman Springer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wenig claimed top spot in Group H at the expense of Danny Noppert, who succumbed to Jonny Clayton in an absorbing start to Tuesday’s proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clayton defied a 107 average from Noppert to triumph in a deciding-leg thriller, overturning a 4-2 deficit to avoid a third consecutive defeat in the round-robin phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the knockout stages, world number one Luke Humphries will take on World Youth Championship runner-up Jurjen van der Velde, while Gerwyn Price continues his bid for a fourth Grand Slam title against German number one Martin Schindler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2022 Grand Slam champion Michael Smith faces world number eight Chris Dobey in another eye-catching clash, with Luke Woodhouse and Ricky Evans locking horns in Wednesday’s curtain-raiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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GROUP RESULTS: <\/strong>Jonny Clayton 5-4 Danny Noppert (H); Beau Greaves 5-3 Niko Springer (G); Luke Littler 5-1 Daryl Gurney (E); Lukas Wenig 5-1 Cam Crabtree (H); Connor Scutt 5-3 Karel Sedlacek (E); Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Gary Anderson (G); Wessel Nijman 5-0 Lisa Ashton (F); Josh Rock 5-2 Gian van Veen (F)<\/p>\n\n\n\n