Sherrock hits 170 to make history

The darting superstar, who recorded the highest televised average for a women during a 5-0 thumping of Mike De Decker on Sunday night, needed to beat the German by a scoreline of 5-3 or better in Wolverhampton to become the first woman to reach the knockout stages of the tournament and looked up against it when she trailed 3-1.

But Sherrock hit back with a 12-darter before landing a stunning 141 finish in the next leg to keep her hopes alive. And after moving 4-3 ahead she then completed a remarkable victory with a sensational 170 checkout that sent the Aldersley Leisure Village crowd crazy.

Sherrock brilliantly shocked Dimitri Van den Bergh at the televised Nordic Darts Masters earlier this winter before narrowly losing the final to Michael van Gerwen and those longer format experiences will surely fill her with confidence ahead of a best-of-19 legs showdown with Suljovic.

"I don't even know how I did that," said Sherrock. "When I approached the 170 I knew that was my only chance and that I had to take it. I'm so proud of myself for doing it as it shows what I can do and gives me a lot of confidence.

"I'm really looking forward to playing Mensur again and I'm excited to see how much further I can go."

The victory was good news for followers of our daily darts tips as Sherrock was put up for victory with a scoreline of 5-3. It was one of three winning tips out of four across the night, while the 4/1 acca came in as well.

Suljovic had earlier sealed his progress with a 5-0 victory over Canada's Matt Campbell without missing a dart at a double and he ended the match with an average just below 106.

World number two Peter Wright topped Sherrock's group with a victory over De Decker, who only got two darts at doubles in a second successive 5-0 defeat.

Michael van Gerwen sealed his place in the last 16 with the minimum of fuss as he crushed John Henderson 5-1 with the aid of four 180s and a match-winning 125 checkout consisting of two bullseyes.

The three-time champion said: "I thought I did quite well - especially hitting the 125 at the end. I didn't play as well as I did at the weekend but I knew I was going through and maybe was a little too relaxed.

"I feel good and I am playing good darts. Everybody knows that if I play my best game I will beat them and I'm looking forward to the next match."

Joe Cullen sealed runners-up spot behind MVG with a 5-2 defeat of Lisa Ashton, who has now lost all nine of her Grand Slam of Darts matches over the past three years.

Van Gerwen will now meet his old rival Gary Anderson, who maintained his proud record of never failing to get out of the group stage dating back to his debut way back in 2007.

The Flying Scotsman faced Raymond van Barneveld in a winner takes all showdown but came through it 5-2 to take runners-up spot in Group H behind Michael Smith, who beat Joe Davis 5-3 to finish top with a perfect record.

"It's been a long run and it's a record I'm happy with," said Anderson, who averaged 103.88.

"I played proper darts tonight. I had to to beat Raymond and I showed that I can still do it from time to time so we'll see how it goes when I play Michael."

Jose de Sousa advanced from Suljovic's group despite losing his last game 5-3 to Luke Humphries. The defending champion was in trouble at 4-1 down as Humphries chased a victory margin of 5-2 or better to leapfrog him on legs difference but just came up short.

Grand Slam of Darts: Tuesday results and Wednesday schedule

Tuesday November 16 (7pm)TV Coverage: Sky SportsGroup Matches (Best of 9 legs)

• Michael Smith 5-3 Joe Davis (H)
• Joe Cullen 5-2 Lisa Ashton (G)
• Michael van Gerwen 5-1 John Henderson (G)
• Mensur Suljovic 5-0 Matt Campbell (F)
• Jose de Sousa 3-5 Luke Humphries (F)
• Peter Wright 5-0 Mike De Decker (E)
• Gabriel Clemens 3-5 Fallon Sherrock (E)
• Raymond van Barneveld 2-5 Gary Anderson (H)

Wednesday November 17 (1900 GMT)Second Round (Best of 19 legs)

• Ryan Joyce v Rob Cross
• James Wade v Rowby-John Rodriguez
• Gerwyn Price v Bradley Brooks
• Jonny Clayton v Nathan Rafferty

Thursday November 18 (1900 GMT)Second Round (Best of 19 legs) ORDER TBC

• Peter Wright v Jose De Sousa
• Fallon Sherrock v Mensur Suljovic
• Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
• Joe Cullen v Michael Smith

Grand Slam of Darts 2021: Group standings

Group A

1. (1) Gerwyn Price P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +5 Pts 4
2. Nathan Rafferty P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
3. Krzysztof Ratajski P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff -2 Pts 2
4. Martin Schindler P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff -6 Pts 2

Group B

1. (8) Jonny Clayton P 3 W 3 L 0 LegDiff +6 Pts 6
2. Bradley Brooks P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
3. Mervyn King P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff -4 Pts 2
4. Rusty-Jake Rodriguez P 3 W 0 L 3 LegDiff -6 Pts 0

Group C

1. (4) James Wade P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +5 Pts 4
2. Rob Cross P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
3. Jim Williams P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
4. Boris Krcmar P 3 W 0 L 3 LegDiff -12 Pts 0

Group D

1. Ryan Joyce P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
2. Rowby-John Rodriguez P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +2 Pts 4
3. Chris Dobey P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff -2 Pts 2
4. Stephen Bunting P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff -3 Pts 2

Chris Dobey replaced fifth seed Dimitri Van den Bergh

Group E

1. (2) Peter Wright P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +8 Pts 4
2. Fallon Sherrock P 3 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
3. Gabriel Clemens P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
4. Mike De Decker P 3 W 0 L 3 LegDiff -14 Pts 0

Group F

1. Mensur Suljovic P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +6 Pts 4
2. (7) Jose de Sousa P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
3. Luke Humphries P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +2 Pts 4
4. Matt Campbell P 3 W 0 L 3 LegDiff -11 Pts 0

Group G

1. (3) Michael van Gerwen P 3 W 3 L 0 LegDiff +12 Pts 6
2. Joe Cullen P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +5 Pts 4
3. John Henderson P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff -6 Pts 2
4. Lisa Ashton P 3 W 0 L 3 LegDiff -11 Pts 0

Group H

1. Michael Smith P 3 W 3 L 0 LegDiff +7 Pts 6
2. (6) Gary Anderson P 3 W 2 L 1 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
3. Raymond van Barneveld P 3 W 1 L 2 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
4. Joe Davis P 3 W 0 L 3 LegDiff -11 Pts 0

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