Seeds Jonny Clayton, Ross Smith, Josh Rock and Luke Woodhouse were all knocked out of the Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday, while Beau Greaves was also eliminated.
Fifth seed Clayton was demolished 5-1 in barely 10 minutes by former world champion Rob Cross, who posted an impressive 114 average and finishing stats of 83 per cent.
Clayton was the second seed to be eliminated on Sunday after 15th-seed Luke Woodhouse lost 5-1 to Krzysztof Ratajski.
In the final match of the afternoon session, eighth seed Josh Rock knew he could not afford to lose three legs to Kevin Doets, but he ultimately lost the match 5-3.
And in the evening session, sixth seed Smith beat Gabriel Clemens 5-4, but conceded too many legs and exits the tournament following Saturday’s shock loss to Rusty-Jake Rodriguez.
Meanwhile, three-time Women’s World Matchplay champion Greaves enjoyed a 5-3 win against Niels Zonneveld, but the scoreline was not enough to keep her in the competition.
Lisa Ashton, Cam Crabtree, Raymond Smith, Adam Sevada, Maik Kuivenhoven, Jan Schmidt, Carl Sneyd and Joe Huntalso had group-stage exits confirmed on Sunday.
Sunday’s Grand Slam of Darts results
Group A: Niels Zonneveld 3-5 Beau Greaves
Beau Greaves recovered from 3-1 down to beat Niels Zonneveld 5-3, but the scoreline was not good enough to see her progress from this year’s ‘Group of Death’.
Greaves dominated her opponent in the second half of the match, but her 5-2 defeat to Luke Littler on Saturday night sees her once again fail to get out of a group with The Nuke now the hot favourite to progress to the last 16.
Group B: Alan Soutar 5-2 Lisa Ashton
Lisa Ashton will need to wait another year for her first win in the Grand Slam of Darts, as she fell to a 5-2 loss to Alan Soutar. That result means whoever wins Monday’s clash between Soutar and Jermaine Wattimena will progress.
Group C: Josh Rock 3-5 Kevin Doets
After losing his opening match to Tommy Morris on Saturday, Premier League star Josh Rock knew he needed to beat Kevin Doets and concede no more than two legs in order to stay in the tournament.
However, Doets posted a 100 average and five 180s as he stormed to a 5-3 victory to eliminate Rock and set up a Monday night showdown with Morris.
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Group D: Cameron Menzies 5-4 Raymond Smith
Cameron Menzies fought back from 3-1 down to beat Raymond Smith 5-4 and set up a Monday night decider with Stephen Bunting to see who tops the group.
A spectacular 162 finish in the sixth leg levelled the scores and helped to eliminate the unfortunate Smith, who lost final-leg deciders in both of his matches at the Grand Slam.
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Group E: Sebastian Bialecki 5-4 Joe Hunt
Joe Hunt averaged more than 94 and threw a dozen 140s, but was still eliminated from the Grand Slam of Darts in a thrilling 5-4 defeat to Sebastian Bialecki on Sunday evening.
The Polish player edged a last-leg decider to pick up two points and he will now face Gerwyn Price on Monday night to decide who reaches the knockout stage.
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Group F: Andrew Gilding 5-4 Charlie Manby
Andrew Gilding averaged just 81, but still found a way to eliminate Charlie Manby from the Grand Slam with a 5-4 victory.
Manby missed his first 12 darts at double in the match before recovering to establish a 3-2 lead, but his opponent won three of the final four legs, ultimately securing the win with a classy 124 checkout on bullseye. He will face Ryan Searle on Monday to decide who progresses.
Group G: Jonny Clayton 1-5 Rob Cross
Jonny Clayton won the opening leg of his must-win clash against Rob Cross, but didn’t attempt another double as he was knocked out of the tournament in brutal fashion.
Cross reeled off five legs in a row, including finishes of 138 and 137 in a ruthless performance and will look to take that form into his group decider with Anton Ostlund on Monday.
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Group H: Niko Springer 5-1 Adam Sevada
Niko Springer managed TWO Robin Hoods (where a dart lands in the flight of a previous dart and scores no points) but still cruised to a 5-1 win over Adam Sevada.
That means the winner of Springer’s clash with Wessel Nijman on Monday night will reach the last 16.
Group I: Joe Cullen 2-5 Paolo Nebrida
Joe Cullen suffered a surprise defeat to Paolo Nebrida who kept his hopes of qualification alive with a 5-2 victory.
In a game of poor-quality finishing, the players missed 30 darts at a double between them in seven legs, and while Luke Humphries is now a heavy favourite to progress from Group I, all three players can still technically qualify.
Group J: Luke Woodhouse 1-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
World No 17 Luke Woodhouse became one of the biggest casualties of the tournament so far as he lost five legs in a row in a 5-1 defeat to Krzysztof Ratajski.
That makes it two defeats in two games for ‘Woody’, while Ratajski will take on Tom Sykes on Tuesday night to decide who makes it into the next round.
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Group K: Ricky Evans 5-4 Cam Crabtree
After losing 5-1 to James Wade on Saturday, Cam Crabtree needed to avoid losing two legs against Ricky Evans on Sunday to stay in the competition.
The pair served up a quickfire contest to the Wolverhampton crowd and Crabtree missed two match darts, but was ultimately knocked out by Evans who will now face Wade to decide the group.
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Group L: Jeffrey de Graaf 4-5 Henry Coates
Henry Coates took Michael van Gerwen to a last-leg decider on Saturday night and the 20-year-old was involved in another thriller on Sunday as he beat Jeffrey de Graaf 5-4.
The result means all three players could still technically qualify from the group.
Group M: Bradley Brooks 5-3 Carl Sneyd
Carl Sneyd’s tournament was ended by an impressive display from Bradley Brooks, who threw five 180s and averaged more than 97 in a 5-3 win.
Brooks will now take on third seed Gian van Veen on Tuesday night, seeking an upset victory to make his way into the second round.
Group N: Martin Schindler 5-0 Jan Schmidt
Martin Schindler whitewashed Jan Schmidt 5-0 in the opening match of the evening session to eliminate his fellow German from the tournament.
Both players struggled on their doubles, but Schindler is the only player who hasn’t lost a leg and can now focus on Tuesday’s winner-takes-all clash with Chris Dobey to decide who tops the group.
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Group O: Ross Smith 5-4 Gabriel Clemens
Ross Smith was one of the favourites to win the Grand Slam of Darts, but exits at the group stage despite a gutsy win over Gabriel Clemens.
The European champion needed to win 5-3 or better to keep his tournament hopes alive, but a checkout ratio of less than 19 per cent proved his undoing.
Group P: Karel Sedlacek 4-5 Maik Kuivenhoven
Maik Kuivenhoven was eliminated from the tournament but still recovered from 4-1 down to beat Karel Sedlacek 5-4.
That leaves Sedlacek needing a big win over Nathan Aspinall on Tuesday night to qualify.
Monday at the Grand Slam of Darts
8x Group Stage Matches from 7pm on Sky Sports
Jermaine Wattimena v Alan Soutar (B)
Ryan Searle v Andreew Gilding (F)
Rob Cross v Anton Ostlund (G)
Kevin Doets v Tommy Morris (C)
Gerwyn Price v Sebastian Bialecki (E)
Luke Littler v Niels Zonneveld (A)
Stephen Bunting v Cameron Menzies (D)
Wessel Nijman v Niko Springer (H)
Watch the Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3) all live on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.