Ryan Searle hits nine-darter as Michael Smith bows out

Ryan Searle hit a nine-dart finish on his way to beating Northern Ireland’s Nathan Rafferty at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

Leading by four legs to three, Searle hit back-to-back 180s in the eighth leg before booking his place in the last-16 by taking out the 141 finish.

Michael Smith’s defence of the title was abruptly ended after the world number one was thrashed 5-1 by James Wade.

Smith claimed his first major PDC title in Wolverhampton last year before going on to lift the World Championship but his defeat left him, Wade and Krzysztof Ratajski all tied on four points in group A.

Despite winning two out of his three group matches, Smith was left to rue a heavy loss on Monday evening as Wade and Ratajski progressed to the last-16 by virtue of a superior leg difference.

Gerwyn Price averaged a staggering 112.3 as he brushed aside Gian Van Veen 5-1 to make it three wins from three and ease into the knockout rounds, with Ryan Searle finishing second in group D.

Gary Anderson blew away Carlow native Steve Lennon 5-1 to finish second in group C, with Dirk Van Duijvenbode’s challenge ended after the Dutchman lost by an identical scoreline to table-topping Luke Humphries.

In Group B, Chris Dobey defeated Jonny Clayton 5-3 to finish runner-up behind Josh Rock, who continued his excellent campaign by trouncing Berry Van Peer 5-1 for his third-successive win.