DEFENDING champions Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante crashed out in a huge shock on the third day of the 2010 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.
ENGLAND survived a major scare on the second day of the 2010 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.
DEFENDING champions Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante comfortably advanced into the last 16 of the 2010 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool
THE 2010 Championship League Darts begins on Tuesday, as eight of the world's top players battle for £200,000 in prize money in the internet-streamed tournament.
FRANCISCO Bustamante hopes he and Efren Reyes can claim the World Cup of Pool title for a third time.
Defending champion Shaun Murphy got his 2010 PartyCasino.com Premier League campaign off to a fantastic site as he got the better of Ding Junhui by a convincing 5-1 scoreline.
BODOG, the largest online betting brand in the world*, have been confirmed as the new title sponsors of the Bodog.com World Grand Prix darts championship.
Barney held but Wade claims first win of season
DEFENDING Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts champion James Wade picked up his first win of the 2010 season with an 8-4 defeat Simon Whitlock as Phil Taylor hit top gear at The Brighton Centre on Thursday night.
Wade looked on course to suffer a fourth defeat in the opening six weeks when Whitlock powered into an early 4-1 lead, aided by a sensational 170 checkout.
But the world number three clawed back level before pulling away for victory with a run of seven successive legs to move off the bottom of the league table.
"It's a relief to get the two points because I've been putting myself under a lot of pressure to get that first win but now I hope that the relaxed and fluent James Wade will come out," said Wade.
"I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me now if I'm going to get into the play-offs and it's a huge mountain to climb but I'll do everything I can to get in there."
Wade jumped above Terry Jenkins in the table after the 2007 runner-up was defeated 8-3 by Phil Taylor.
Jenkins hit finishes of 122, 118 and 116 to win his three legs, but could not match Taylor's scoring power as the World Champion powered in a 106.79 average - the second highest so far this season - to remain unbeaten at the top of the standings.
Taylor is now three points clear of Mervyn King, who drew with Raymond van Barneveld in Brighton.
King hit finishes of 142 and 121 in leading 6-3 and 7-5, but the Dutchman hit a 13-darter in the deciding leg to claim a point.
The night's other game saw Adrian Lewis come from 6-4 down to win a thriller against Ronnie Baxter 8-6.
Baxter led 3-0 following an explosive start, and missed three darts at double top to snatch a draw in the deciding leg before Lewis took out 118 to pick up his second win of the season.
Lewis will take on Taylor at the NIA in Birmingham next week, and said: "To come from 6-4 down against a player like Ronnie is a huge confidence boost and I can't wait to play Phil now - bring it on!"
Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Six - The Brighton Centre
Phil Taylor 8-3 Terry Jenkins,
Raymond van Barneveld 7-7 Mervyn King,
Ronnie Baxter 6-8 Adrian Lewis,
Simon Whitlock 4-8 James Wade
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