Two down, but Stephen Bunting through to Grand Prix round two

Five-time World Champion van Barneveld looked set to crash out of the double-start tournament when he lost the opening set 3-0 to last year's runner-up in Dublin, as Chisnall made a fine start.

Van Barneveld took out 129 and 105 to share the opening four legs of the second set, before a 13-darter from the Dutchman denied Chisnall a match dart as he forced a deciding set.

The two-time World Grand Prix runner-up then took out 109 and 75 to move 2-0 up in the third set, and though Chisnall hit double eight to reply it was van Barneveld who hit the same bed in the next leg to complete a superb comeback.

"After the first set I thought I was dead and buried but I gave it all I had," said van Barneveld. "Maybe I had one or two lucky legs but I nicked it and I'll be back on Thursday night.

"Dave had a great first set and he's a fantastic player, but he let me in and I dug in and won. My finishing helped me, big-time, but I'll have to improve in the second round.

"I believe I'm playing well and I'm happy with this win. I'm trying to get back in the top 16 because I think I belong there, winning key tournaments."

Van Barneveld will now play Mervyn King in the second round on Thursday, with the 2012 World Grand Prix finalist going all the way to a deciding leg in his first round clash with Wes Newton before prevailing.

King edged the first set 3-2 before Newton levelled the game by taking the second 3-1, and though the Fleetwood ace led 2-1 in the decider, King squared the set on double four before winning the sudden-death leg on tops.

"That was a struggle from the word go - I took the first set and had a great chance in the second set to take the game 2-0 but made extremely hard work of it," said King.

"I'm in the next round but there's room for improvement. The doubles were fine but I'm not scoring as well as I should be at the moment and I'll work hard on that on the practice board."

Richie Burnett was another winner in a sudden-death leg as he edged out Simon Whitlock in a remarkable contest.

After losing the opening set without reply, Whitlock hit back to win the second 3-1 and shared the first four legs of the third set - but could only watch on as Burnett took the deciding leg in dramatic fashion.

The Welshman initially missed seven opening doubles, before scoring 100, 100 and 180 to set up a 121 checkout, finishing the combination on the bullseye to claim victory with 11 scoring darts.

"In the last leg I was shaking - but the bull couldn't have been better placed if I'd gone up to the board and stuck it in!" said Burnett. "That's the pain you have to go through to win.

"Simon didn't play well in the first set and struggled to get his starting doubles, but I knew he was going to come back because he's a top-class player, and the second set was really hard.

"If I can get that double top in to start going, I'll be dangerous because I feel really good scoring-wise and I'm finishing okay. The only thing that's stopping me being in the top eight of the world is consistency, and I'm working hard on it."

Burnett's second round opponent will be two-time World Grand Prix finalist Terry Jenkins, who impressed with a straight sets win over Kim Huybrechts, for whom a 170 finish was not enough to prevent a third successive first round exit in Dublin.

"I prepared well and I felt really relaxed and comfortable tonight," said Jenkins. "I know I'm pretty good on the double top, and if that's going in for me, I can be a danger in this competition."

2012 World Grand Prix champion Michael van Gerwen was a 2-0 winner over close friend Vincent van der Voort - who was the best man at his August wedding - as he began his bid to win a second World Grand Prix title by dropping only one leg.

"I wasn't happy with the draw and it was strange because nobody in darts has a relationship like me and Vincent, so it was really difficult," admitted world number one van Gerwen.

"I'm really glad that I won the first set because Vincent started well and had his chances, and I'm happy with my performance - I played really well and I can build on this."

Dean Winstanley progressed to a second round meeting with the World Champion with a three-set victory over Michael Smith, who hit back from a set down to level only to see the Yorkshireman prevail 3-1 in the decider.

"Two years ago I missed two darts to win and blew it against Dave Chisnall and I wanted to prove a point to myself tonight, so I'm ecstatic inside," conceded Winstanley. "I dug deep in the third set and held my nerve.

"My starting was good - there was only one leg where I didn't hit my starting double in the first three darts - and this is the hardest format we play, but Michael gave me my breaks tonight."

Stephen Bunting enjoyed a winning World Grand Prix debut as he defeated Ronnie Baxter in straight sets to set up a second round meeting with Peter Wright.

"For my debut, I'm really happy with that," said Bunting. "I kept putting too much pressure on myself to get the starting doubles and I was really nervous, but I can relax into the tournament now.

"My record over the last few games against Peter has been good but this is a bit different because it's double-start, and hopefully I can hit my doubles straight away."

Wright, meanwhile, was a 2-1 winner against Jamie Caven in a see-saw game which saw the pair share the opening two sets with 3-0 scorelines before the World Championship finalist came from a leg down to take the decider 3-1.

"Jamie came flying back at me so I'm glad that it didn't go all the way and that 180 in the final leg came in handy," admitted Wright, who added: "I'm number four in the world and I've got to start playing like that.

"When I was trying to get into this position I was playing really good darts, and I haven't been this year which is disappointing.

"I've got a target on my back and everyone wants to beat you, which I understand because I was doing exactly the same to the top guys."

The second round of the £400,000, Sky Sports-televised event begins on Wednesday, with the four matches including reigning champion Phil Taylor's clash with Andrew Gilding.

Two-time champion James Wade plays Robert Thornton, Gary Anderson faces Northern Ireland's Mickey Mansell and Adrian Lewis takes on Kevin Painter.

Tickets for the tournament are still available and can be purchased from the Citywest Hotel Box Office on 00353 (0)1 401 0505 or in person at the venue on the night of the event. Doors open at 6pm, with play commencing at 7pm on each night.

partypoker.com World Grand Prix.

Tuesday October 7.

First Round.

Terry Jenkins 2-0 Kim Huybrechts (3-1, 3-2).

Peter Wright 2-1 Jamie Caven (3-0, 0-3, 3-1).

Mervyn King 2-1 Wes Newton (3-2, 1-3, 3-2).

Dean Winstanley 2-1 Michael Smith (3-0, 2-3, 3-1).

Stephen Bunting 2-0 Ronnie Baxter (3-1, 3-2).

Michael van Gerwen 2-0 Vincent van der Voort (3-1, 3-0).

Dave Chisnall 1-2 Raymond van Barneveld (3-0, 2-3, 1-3).

Simon Whitlock 1-2 Richie Burnett (0-3, 3-1, 2-3).

Wednesday October 8 (7pm-11pm).

Second Round.

Adrian Lewis v Kevin Painter.

James Wade v Robert Thornton.

Phil Taylor v Andrew Gilding.

Gary Anderson v Mickey Mansell.

Thursday October 9 (7pm-11pm).

Second Round.

Peter Wright v Stephen Bunting.

Richie Burnett v Terry Jenkins.

Michael van Gerwen v Dean Winstanley.

Raymond van Barneveld v Mervyn King.