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Wade, Taylor and Ronny Huybrechts in Round Two

Sunday's evening session saw Taylor, Wade and Ronny Huybrechts secure qualification for the second round with victories in their second group matches.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Taylor followed up Saturday's opening whitewash of Stuart Kellett by dropping only one leg in a brilliant 5-1 defeat of Paul Nicholson 24 hours later. The result means that Taylor - who averaged 104.51 in Sunday's win - will now qualify from Group A at the Wolves Civic, as he continues his bid to win a seventh major televised title of 2013.

"I'm delighted to be through because that was the first target tonight, and I'm pleased with my performance as well," said Taylor. "Paul played a lot better than the scoreline suggests and a lot of his darts were just on the wrong side of the wire. I like Paul and I try harder against him because you want to produce an A+ performance, and he brings the best out of me. I want to keep this form going now and I can enjoy the game against Kevin Painter on Tuesday, but I'll still treat it like a World Championship final."

Nicholson now faces a crucial battle on Tuesday night with Kellett which will see the winner progress alongside Taylor to the knockout stages, after the Cheshire ace defeated Painter 5-4 in his second game. Painter led 4-2 at one stage, but was punished for missing two match darts in the seventh leg as the debutant hit back to level before winning the decider in 14 darts.

"It's a massive win for me," said Kellett, who had not previously won a game in front of the TV cameras since joining the PDC circuit almost two years ago. I've had some tough draws in my previous TV appearances this year, but I've learned a lot from those games. I showed a lot of bottle from 4-2 down and I dug in, and I'm so chuffed. Phil battered me last night but I had to brush that off and not worry about it. Phil was awesome but I had to forget it and move on, because the games against Kevin and Paul were always going to be the big games, and I've given myself a chance to get through."

2010 Grand Slam of Darts finalist Wade continued his strong start to this year's event as he followed up his opening win over Peter Wright with a clinical 5-3 defeat of Gary Anderson to seal his last 16 spot, which included finishes of 120 and 110.

"The key to the win was taking advantage of Gary's errors on the finishing, and a couple of ton-plus finishes is always nice," said Wade, the PDC world number six. "I'm working very hard on my approach to matches at the moment and my mindset during games. I've confirmed my place in the knockout stages now but I want to be professional in my last game against Wesley Harms and go through with a 100 percent record."

Anderson will now take on Wright for a place in the last 16, with the UK Open semi-finalist having earlier won 5-2 in his clash with Dutchman Wesley Harms, who cannot qualify after suffering a second successive defeat.

Belgian ace Ronny Huybrechts continued his dream debut in Wolverhampton by picking up a superb 5-3 comeback win over Adrian Lewis, a result which followed his triumph over former Lakeside Champion Christian Kist 24 hours earlier.
Lewis looked set to storm to a second successive win when he established a 3-1 cushion at an average of 110, but the newcomer hit an 11-darter to reply, punished three misses at tops from the Stoke ace to level before winning the next two legs to secure passage into the second round.

"It's great for me," said Huybrechts, whose younger brother Kim could also still qualify. "To beat Christian Kist, the World Champion of last year, and then Adrian Lewis, a two-time World Champion, and to be through before the last game is brilliant. It's a fantastic moment, a dream come true! For my first year in this event, everything's new for me but I love it. I'll just take one game at a time and see what happens. I hope Kim can qualify too, he's got a difficult game against Michael but it would be great for him."

Lewis now takes on Kist to decide who joins the older Huybrechts brother in qualifying from Group C, after the Dutchman picked up a 5-2 win over another new face, Richie George, in their second game of the event.
There is, though, still plenty to play for in Group D after Michael van Gerwen won his second successive game by sweeping past Dean Winstanley 5-1 and Kim Huybrechts whitewashed Vincent van der Voort.
Huybrechts and van Gerwen now meet on Tuesday night, while Winstanley faces van der Voort in the group's other final match on a night in which both results could affect the qualifiers.

"It was an important win for me and the leg difference could be important," said Huybrechts. "Yesterday I thought I played better but I missed a lot of doubles, but today I didn't score as well and my doubles were crucial - every chance I had I took. It's always going to be tough when you lose your first game and I just have to beat Michael now, but I've got confidence I can do this. He's a really good player but I beat him in Holland recent and I know I can do it."

Monday night seeds Groups E-H play their final round-robin games, with only Scott Waites definitely assured of progression to the knockout stage, while Ted Hankey and Michael Smith face a key battle in which the winner joins the 2010 champion in qualifying.

Reigning champion Raymond van Barneveld is joined by Robert Thornton and Simon Whitlock on four points but not yet safe as they go into games with Mervyn King, Andy Hamilton and Wes Newton respectively

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