Lakeside runner-up Jeff Smith has earned a place in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts with a 5-4 win over Simon Whitlock.

Smith suffered a heavy defeat to Peter Wright in his opening group-stage match but he has bounced back in style to edge out Whitlock in a last-leg decider to secure a showdown with Phil Taylor.

Fellow BDO representative Jamie Hughes also pulled off a sensational win as he hit back from 4-1 down to defeat James Wilson by a 5-4 scoreline to earn a place in the second round against Chris Dobey.

Danny Noppert will also feature in the knockout stages after beating Nathan Aspinall 5-2, while Dutch compatriot Raymond van Barneveld made sure of qualification by beating Mensur Suljovic 5-3.

There was also drama in Group B as Robert Thornton qualified for the next round after a nine-leg shootout with Dimitri Van de Bergh.

Thornton had earlier lost to Gerwyn Price but he held his nerve to see off the Belgian by five points after the youngster had previously beaten Scott Waites.

The night began with Dave Chisnall and Wright earning 5-3 triumphs over James Wade and Ted Evetts respectively.