Quartet Win Grand Slam Spots

WES NEWTON, Justin Pipe, Mark Hylton and John Henderson won places in the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts at the ITV Wildcard Qualifier on Friday night.

The quartet battled through a field of 269 players at the Barnsley Metrodome to claim their places at the Grand Slam of Darts, which will be played from November 13-21 and screened live on ITV4.

Newton won through the ITV Wildcard Qualifier for the second time in three years, defeating former Lakeisde Champion John Walton 4-2 in his deciding game to earn a spot in Wolverhampton.

He had also taken out 161 in the deciding leg of his penultimate game, against Michael van Gerwen, and also overcame Steve Brown, Steven Pearson, Mark Robinson and Steven Barrow on the night.

Scottish ace Henderson, a 37-year-old from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, was victorious 4-2 against Denis Ovens in his decisive game of the event to earn a debut in the Grand Slam.

Henderson had earlier defeated Andy Hamilton - the runner-up in the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts in 2007 - with a fine 4-0 win, also whitewashing Ian Lever and defeating Nigel Heydon and Steve Farmer on his way to qualifying.

Taunton-based Pipe, a tree surgeon away from darts, and Rugeley's Mark Hilton - nicknamed "Mile High" in recognition of his former role as an airline cabin manager - will both play on televised for the first time outside of the UK Open after winning the other two qualifying spots.

The pair are also in line to qualify for the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in December, but will also challenge for the £100,000 first prize at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall next week.

Pipe, 39, defeated Mark Walsh 4-2 in their decider to win his Grand Slam of Darts spot, having picked up whitewash wins against Graham Moulds and Andy Steed during the event and also knocked out local star Darren Johnson.

"I'm overjoyed," said Pipe. "It was my daughter's birthday this week and I said I'd try to qualify for her to give me extra incentive, and I've managed to do it. I can't wait to play in Wolverhampton."

Hylton, meanwhile, overcame Mexborough's two-time World Champion Dennis Priestley 4-2 to win his Grand Slam of Darts spot, and August's Australian Open Players Championship runner-up admitted afterwards: "I'm almost speechless.

"This means a huge amount to me because although I've become a full-time professional this year and it's paying off for me now. To qualify is special but to beat someone as respected as Dennis to do so is the icing on the cake."

Hylton defeated Coventry's Kevin Dowling and Stoke's Ian White on his way to the latter stages, before whitewashing Northern Ireland's 69-year-old John MaGowan and then defeating another veteran, 60-year-old Priestley, to seal his Grand Slam berth.

The tournament, which was open to any darts player, saw amateur players from across the country mix with some of the leading professional names who had yet to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts.

Kevin Painter missed four darts to beat Alex Roy in their high-profile second round clash, while three-time World Champion John Part was defeated by Ian White in the last 64.

Jelle Klaasen and Andy Smith were the biggest first round casualties, losing to Harry Miles and Darren Johnson respectively, while former World Championship finalist Kirk Shepherd let a 3-0 lead slip in the preliminary round against Mitchell Clegg.

Australian Clegg, who will compete in Saturday's PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship at the same venue, also defeated Paul Williams and Brandon Walsh on his way to the last 64.

The final two places in the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts field will be awarded to the finalists of the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship, which will be held on Saturday at the Barnsley Metrodome.

The draw for the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts will be made on BRMB Radio's Sports Bar show, between 6pm-7pm on Monday night.

Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts
ITV Wildcard Qualifier
Preliminary Round

Norman Fletcher 4-1 Chris Handley
Colin Monk 4-1 Stephen Main
Dennis Smith 4-0 James Young
John Walton 4-0 John Elliott
Dave Atkins 4-3 Simon Jones
Mitchell Clegg 4-3 Kirk Shepherd
Steven Harbert 4-3 Josh Thompson
Stuart Holden 4-2 Devon Petersen
Tony Ayres 4-0 Simon Hopkins
Arron Monk 4-3 Darren Twist
Scott Rand 4-1 Ken Dobson
Andy Jenkins 4-0 Michael Robinson
Daniel Day 4-0 Darron Brown

First Round
Mark Walsh (1) 4-3 Mick McGowan
James Richardson 4-1 Chris Aubrey
Mark Jodrill 4-3 Dave Ahmet
Andy Hutchings 4-3 Josh Jones
Matt Clark 4-0 George Cooper
Gary Welding 4-2 Michael Smith
Ian Gleeson 4-1 Darran Sinfield
Nick Fullwell 4-1 Aaron Turner
Brendan Dolan (16) 4-3 Peter Hudson
Daz Whittingham 4-0 Paul Hodkin
Mark Frost 4-3 Sean Dowling
Steve Hine 4-3 Anton Liscsey
Mark Sweetland 4-2 Adrian Gray
Andy Turnbull 4-0 Matt Pearson
Ashley Holgate 4-0 Mark Furber
Norman Fletcher 4-2 Anthony Mitchell
Harry Miles 4-3 Jelle Klaasen (8)
Philip Wathen 4-0 John Jenkinson
Chris Jones 4-1 Andy Baker
Robbie Newland 4-1 Jason Hollingworth
Justin Pipe 4-0 Graham Moulds
Andy Brown 4-3 Ian Pallett
Andy Steed 4-0 Andy Walsh
Michael Barnard 4-3 Colin Monk
Darren Johnson 4-2 Andy Smith (9)
Steve Evans 4-1 Joe Pearce
Jack Hill 4-1 Michael Lyden
Gareth Thomas 4-0 Jonathan Pope
Gareth Pass 4-0 Sean Davey
Graeme Orr 4-2 Shaun Dring
David Pallett 4-0 Duane Garfield
Dennis Smith  4-2 Paul Bellinger
Jamie Caven (5) 4-0 Michael Baynham
Michael Todd 4-1 Richard Johnson
Jimmy Chojnowski 4-2 Tony Reeves
Lee Whitworth 4-3 John Bowles
Glen Durrant 4-0 Martyn Turner
Louis Blundell 4-2 Carl Heptinstall
Gary Eastwood 4-3 Craig Sharples
John Walton 4-0 Andy Boulton
Barrie Bates (12) 4-0 James Welding
Prakash Jiwa 4-1 Dan Dean
Kevin Bambrick 4-0 Steve Myall
John Jagger 4-1 Fraser Dempsey
Darren Latham 4-0 Daryl Thomas
Aodhagan O'Neill 4-3 Richie Burnett
William O'Connor 4-1 Lionel Sams
Dave Atkins 4-3 Antony Wort
Wes Newton (4) 4-3 Steve Brown
Steven Pearson 4-1 Daren Kitchen
Mark Robinson 4-0 Jaron Esteve
Ash Khayat 4-3 Mareno Michels
David Batty 4-3 Wayne Moulds
Steven Barrow 4-2 Nigel Birch
Brandon Walsh 4-1 Hans Hagley
Mitchell Clegg 4-1 Paul Williams
Michael van Gerwen (13) 4-0 John Power
Jay Winstanley 4-3 Jimi Parr
Andrew Richardson 4-3 Aden Kirk
David Nelson 4-2 James Barton
Andy Pearson 4-1 Paul Schofield
Andy Relf 4-1 Jamie Landon
Adam Smith-Neale 4-0 Kevin Reade
Mark Jones 4-2 Steven Harbert
Andy Hamilton (2) 4-3 Wayne Pepper
John Henderson 4-2 Tony Kennedy
Stuart Pickles 4-2 John Martin
Nigel Heydon 4-1 David Coyne
Paul Whitworth 4-0 Matthew Smith
Steve Perkins 4-0 Steve Davies
Gary Blades 4-1 Ron Atwill
Ian Lever 4-2 Jack Marriner
Tony Eccles (15) 4-0 Neil Selway
Brett Claydon 4-0 Mark Stephens
Steve Farmer 4-0 Shaun Trever
Dave Askew 4-0 Dennis Graham
Chris Iedema 4-2 Darren Ward
Jimmy Mann 4-3 Andy Fordham
Geoff Whitworth 4-3 Ryan Hitchens
Stuart Holden 4-3 Frederick Smith
Alan Tabern (7) 4-0 Frazer Gunn
Michael Rosenauer 4-2 Matthew Edgar
Steve Maish 4-0 Anthony Sharratt
Steve Grubb 4-1 Jon Archer
Dave Honey 4-1 John Dalton
Simon Burt 4-1 Jim McIvor
Shaun Griffiths 4-1 Roland Scholten
Tony Ayres 4-1 Denis McCarthy 
Denis Ovens (10) 4-0 Tony Clark
Nick Malkin 4-3 Steve Cupitt
Darren Weaver 4-3 Sean White
Andy Callaby 4-1 Stuart Dutton
Kevin McDine 4-2 James Marcroft
Mike Veitch 4-1 Ian Jopling
Gary Miles 4-2 Andy Pearce
Arron Monk 4-2 Peter Manley
Dennis Priestley (6) 4-1 Mark Lawrence
Mark Wilson 4-3 Danny Pinhorne
Adrian Welsh 4-0 Phillip King
Dave Ladley 4-1 Ryan Harrington
Michael Wood 4-3 Lewis Venes
Chris Hornby 4-2 Gary O'Donnell
Sam Allen 4-2 Mark Edwards
Scott Rand 4-1 Andy Beardmore
Mark Dudbridge (11) 4-0 Neville Roberts
Joe Cullen 4-1 Mark Stiddard
Dave Smith 4-0 Gary Stiddard
Stuart Kellett 4-0 Ken MacNeil
Jamie Atkins 4-2 Ian McFarlane
Alan Tabern Jnr 4-3 Tony Blundell
Stephen Hardy 4-1 Alan Veale
Peter Wright 4-2 Andy Jenkins
Kevin Painter (3) 4-0 Kevin Taylor
Alex Roy 4-3 Martyn Bevan
Wayne Atwood 4-1 Terry Temple
Darren Sullivan 4-1 Steve Randall
Dylan Duo 4-0 Jason Cole
Collin Foxton 4-3 Jim Young
John MaGowan 4-0 Ryan Herrington
Ricky Williams 4-0 Dean Allsopp
John Part (14) 4-2 Nick Price
Mark Cox 4-1 Spencer Murphy
Ian White 4-0 Steve Musson
Chris Daglish 4-2 Matt Padgett
Robert Alford 4-3 Mark Stephenson
Paul Rowley 4-3 Brian Kirk
Mark Hylton 4-1 Kevin Dowling
Daniel Day 4-1 Anastasia Dobromyslova

Second Round
Mark Walsh 4-1 James Richardson
Mark Jodrill 4-2 Andy Hutchings
Matt Clark 4-2 Gary Welding
Nick Fullwell 4-2 Ian Gleeson
Brendan Dolan 4-2 Daz Whittingham
Mark Frost 4-1 Steve Hine
Mark Sweetland 4-3 Andy Turnbull
Ashley Holgate 4-0 Norman Fletcher
Philip Wathen 4-2 Harry Miles
Chris Jones 4-3 Robbie Newland
Justin Pipe 4-2 Andy Brown
Andy Steed 4-1 Michael Barnard
Darren Johnson 4-2 Steve Evans
Jack Hill 4-1 Gareth Thomas
Gareth Pass 4-1 Graeme Orr
Dennis Smith 4-3 David Pallett
Jamie Caven 4-2 Michael Todd
Lee Whitworth 4-1 Jimmy Chojnowski
Glen Durrant 4-3 Louis Blundell
John Walton 4-1 Gary Eastwood
Barrie Bates 4-3 Prakash Jiwa
Kevin Bambrick 4-0 John Jagger
Aodhagan O'Neill 4-2 Darren Latham
David Atkins 4-3 William O'Connor
Wes Newton 4-2 Steven Pearson
Mark Robinson 4-1 Ash Khayat
Steven Barrow 4-1 David Batty
Mitchell Clegg 4-0 Brandon Walsh
Michael van Gerwen 4-0 Jay Winstanley
David Nelson 4-2 Andrew Richardson
Andy Relf 4-3 Andy Pearson
Adam Smith-Neale 4-2 Mark Jones
John Henderson 4-0 Andy Hamilton
Nigel Heydon 4-1 Stuart Pickles
Paul Whitworth 4-2 Steve Perkins
Ian Lever 4-3 Gary Blades
Tony Eccles 4-1 Brett Claydon
Steve Farmer 4-1 Dave Askew
Chris Iedema 4-1 Jimmy Mann
Stuart Holden 4-0 Geoff Whitworth
Michael Rosenauer 4-3 Alan Tabern
Steve Grubb 4-0 Steve Maish
Dave Honey 4-3 Simon Burt
Tony Ayres 4-2 Shaun Griffiths
Denis Ovens 4-0 Nick Malkin
Andy Callaby 4-1 Darren Weaver
Kevin McDine 4-2 Mike Veitch
Gary Miles 4-3 Arron Monk
Dennis Priestley 4-1 Mark Wilson
Dave Ladley 4-2 Adrian Welsh
Chris Hornby 4-3 Michael Wood
Sam Allen 4-3 Scott Rand
Mark Dudbridge 4-2 Joe Cullen
Dave Smith 4-3 Stuart Kellett
Jamie Atkins 4-2 Alan Tabern Jnr
Peter Wright 4-2 Stephen Hardy
Alex Roy 4-3 Kevin Painter
Wayne Atwood 4-0 Darren Sullivan
Collin Foxton 4-2 Dylan Duo
John MaGowan 4-3 Ricky Williams
John Part 4-3 Mark Cox
Ian White 4-0 Chris Daglish
Robert Alford 4-3 Paul Rowley
Mark Hylton 4-2 Daniel Day

Third Round
Mark Walsh 4-1 Mark Jodrill
Matt Clark 4-2 Nick Fullwell
Brendan Dolan 4-2 Mark Frost
Mark Sweetland 4-1 Ashley Holgate
Philip Wathen 4-1 Chris Jones
Justin Pipe 4-0 Andy Steed
Darren Johnson 4-0 Jack Hill
Gareth Pass 4-1 Dennis Smith
Jamie Caven 4-0 Lee Whitworth
John Walton 4-2 Glen Durrant
Barrie Bates 4-1 Kevin Bambrick
David Atkins 4-2 Aodhagan O'Neill
Wes Newton 4-0 Mark Robinson
Steven Barrow 4-3 Mitchell Clegg
Michael van Gerwen 4-2 David Nelson
Adam Smith-Neale 4-3 Andy Relf
John Henderson 4-3 Nigel Heydon
Ian Lever 4-1 Paul Whitworth
Steve Farmer 4-3 Tony Eccles
Chris Iedema 4-3 Stuart Holden
Steve Grubb 4-3 Michael Rosenauer
Tony Ayres 4-2 Dave Honey
Denis Ovens 4-0 Andy Callaby
Kevin McDine 4-2 Gary Miles
Dennis Priestley 4-0 Dave Ladley
Chris Hornby 4-2 Sam Allen
Mark Dudbridge 4-2 Dave Smith
Jamie Atkins 4-1 Peter Wright
Wayne Atwood 4-2 Alex Roy
John MaGowan 4-0 Collin Foxton
Ian White 4-1 John Part
Mark Hylton 4-1 Robert Alford

Fourth Round
Mark Walsh 4-0 Matt Clark
Mark Sweetland 4-3 Brendan Dolan
Justin Pipe 4-1 Philip Wathen
Darren Johnson 4-3 Gareth Pass
John Walton 4-0 Jamie Caven
David Atkins 4-2 Barrie Bates
Wes Newton 4-2 Steven Barrow
Michael van Gerwen 4-0 Adam Smith-Neale
John Henderson 4-0 Ian Lever
Steve Farmer 4-3 Chris Iedema
Steve Grubb 4-0 Tony Ayres
Denis Ovens 4-3 Kevin McDine
Dennis Priestley 4-2 Chris Hornby
Mark Dudbridge 4-0 Jamie Atkins
John MaGowan 4-2 Wayne Atwood
Mark Hylton 4-2 Ian White

Fifth Round
Mark Walsh 4-0 Mark Sweetland
Justin Pipe 4-2 Darren Johnson
John Walton 4-1 David Atkins
Wes Newton 4-3 Michael van Gerwen
John Henderson 4-3 Steve Farmer
Denis Ovens 4-1 Steve Grubb
Dennis Priestley 4-1 Mark Dudbridge
Mark Hylton 4-0 John MaGowan

Sixth Round
Justin Pipe 4-2 Mark Walsh
Wes Newton 4-2 John Walton
John Henderson 4-2 Denis Ovens
Mark Hylton 4-2 Dennis Priestley

Qualifiers
Justin Pipe
Wes Newton
John Henderson
Mark Hylton