Van Gerwen masterclass

The Dutchman produced a relentless display to remain on course for his first Wolves Civic title by averaging 109.18 and limiting Beaton to only five darts at a double in the game.

Van Gerwen hit three 180s in the opening three legs and also took out 124 for a 12-dart finish as he moved 3-0 up, and hit double eight before back-to-back 13-darters put him six legs clear.

Beaton took out 116 as he finally got off the mark, and replied to another 13-dart finish from the Dutchman with tops to pull back to 7-2, but any hope of a fightback was swiftly ended by van Gerwen with legs of 14, 13 and 12 darts.

"I'm really happy because I played well," said van Gerwen. "I'm playing fantastic darts and today was perfect, I hit my finishes at the right moments.

"I hope I can keep this performance going but this is a tournament I've never won before so I've got a huge couple of games ahead.

"I know I can keep this going and I only have one goal in this tournament – to win."

Michael Smith won through to the quarter-finals for a second successive year as he hit a stunning nine 180s in his 10-7 defeat of Dave Chisnall in a clash of the St Helens rivals.

Chisnall, who landed a nine-dart finish on Sunday, shared the opening eight legs, but Smith crucially won four of the next five to pull clear to 8-5.

Chisnall finished 61 and 63 to pull back to 9-7, but tops for Smith sealed an impressive win with a 104.59 average as he bids to claim a first major ranking title.

Stoke's former world champion Adrian Lewis beat Scotland's Peter Wright 10-6 to progress.

The quarter-finals kick off tonight, with Phil Taylor battling to find consistency in his game as he bids to retain the title.

Taylor had won through his group unbeaten with three wins at the Wolves Civic to start the tournament this week, only to find himself 4-0 down in the second round against Terry Jenkins on Wednesday.

Taylor hit back to win 10-6, but admitted to being frustrated by performances which even he admits are below-par for the standards he has set during his incredible 25-year career.

Taylor faces Scotland's Robert Thornton in tonight's opening quarter-finals, and he said: "You've got to go out and enjoy it and I didn't on Wednesday – I hated every minute of it!"

Tonight's other quarter-final sees 2012 Grand Slam of Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld facing Welsh left-hander Mark Webster, who knocked out PDC World Champion Gary Anderson in the second round.