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WOLFIE WOWS WOLVERHAMPTON WITH WONDERFUL SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM DEBUT

MARTIN ADAMS hit three ton-plus checkouts as he made an impressive SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts debut with a 5-2 win over Ian White on Saturday, as Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen opened with whitewash wins in Wolverhampton.

Three-time Lakeside Champion Adams turned the Wolfie-whistles of the Wolves Civic crowd to cheers with finishes of 133, 136 and 116 against number eight seed White as he kicked off Group B in style. The 59-year-old ended his first appearance in the Grand Slam of Darts with an average of 104.82, and put himself in pole position to progress to the knockout stage with the victory.

"I really enjoyed it and I'm grateful for the win," said Adams. "I loved it out there and I like playing darts, and I've enjoyed playing more in the last 12 months than I think I ever have done. I was nervous this morning but I really did enjoy myself up there. Ian let me off the hook in one leg but the big finishes were nice. You miss them more than you hit them, but they were good today and went in."

Adams will now meet Jelle Klaasen in Sunday's second round-robin fixtures, after the Dutchman defeated Steve Beaton 5-4, edging a tight contest with the aid of a 180 and a 76 finish in the deciding leg.

"I think I played pretty solid so I'm happy with the win," said Klaasen. "I'm happy with the last leg and I think it was a very important win."

While Adams made a winning debut in Wolverhampton, there would be no fairytale for reigning Lakeside Champion Scott Mitchell or the ever-popular Andy Fordham, who both suffered defeats in their opening fixtures. Mitchell averaged a strong 104.49 but went down 5-2 to Peter Wright, as the number four seed took out 130 on his way to a 3-0 lead before holding on to his advantage.

"I knew Scott was playing well but I did what I had to do, and it doesn't matter what your average is as long as you get the win," said Wright. "He's a gentleman and a worthy champion, but he missed a few doubles and I punished him."

The night's other Group D game saw Dave Chisnall win a high-quality clash against Mervyn King 5-3, despite the Norfolk thrower taking out finishes of 108 and 107 to twice lead before the 2014 finalist took the final three legs without reply.

"It's always nice to get the first win under your belt," said Chisnall. "Mervyn hit some big finishes but he let me in and I'm happy with how I played. It's a very tough group - but all groups are tough and you've got to play at your best to win."

Fordham, meanwhile, took the opening leg of his clash with Adrian Lewis with a 14-dart leg, kicking off the game with a 180, before the two-time World Champion hit back to win 5-2.

"Andy's not been on TV for a while but he was fantastic and showed what a champion he is," said Lewis. "I didn't know what to expect so I'm really happy to get the win."

Lewis now plays Michael Smith in their second Group C clash, with the former World Youth Champion coming from 3-2 down to defeat Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones 5-3.

"It was a very hard game but Wayne let me in - he had two darts to move 4-2 up but missed and I took my chance," said Smith. "I needed that win because I needed two points to keep my confidence going."

PDC world number one Michael van Gerwen needed only eight minutes to record a clinical whitewash of Dutch debutant Mark Oosterhuis, book-ending the display with legs of 12 and 13 darts and ending with a 102.95 average.

"It was difficult for Mark because it was his first time on the stage," said van Gerwen. "I started off really well and my confidence was there straight away, and I did the right things at the right moments. I know him from Holland I'm glad that he qualified, but I'm only focusing on myself and this is a good start for me. I'm really glad that I played well and I want to show this again on Sunday now because I'm feeling good and confident. To win 5-0 was very important. I'm leading the table now and I want to keep it that way."

Van Gerwen now meets Kim Huybrechts in a tasty Group A clash on Sunday, with the Belgian - a semi-finalist last year - having averaged 105.92 in his impressive 5-2 win over Steve West and hit five 180s.

"I'm happy because I've been playing well lately," said Huybrechts, who dedicated the win to friend Gino Dierckx, who passed away on Friday. "You always want to win your first game because that takes a lot of pressure off you so it's a good win. I've been working hard on my consistency and I'm feeling really good, so bring them on!"

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