PHIL Taylor put one foot into the second round of the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts with a record average in a 5-1 victory over Christian Kist last night, as St Helens arrows aces Stephen Bunting and Michael Smith joined Dave Chisnall in the last 16.

Reigning champion Taylor followed up Saturday's whitewash of Richie George at the Wolves Civic with an imperious display against Dutchman Kist, as his 114.65 average broke the previous Grand Slam record.

Taylor hit two 180s in the opening leg before finishes of 98, tops and 88 moved him 3-0 up in the blink of an eye.

A missed bullseye for a 170 finish allowed Kist in to land double 11 to hit back, but Taylor traded 180s with the former Lakeside Champion as he moved 4-1 up before the 54-year-old powered home a 131 checkout to seal victory in style.

"Christian was superb and he put me under pressure, and it was a great game," said Taylor, whose average was the ninth highest ever on television. "I'm relaxed and I think I'm going to play well this week.

"I've still got some work to do but this was a great win for me."

Taylor now needs to win just one leg in Tuesday's third Group E game against Andy Hamilton to secure qualification as he takes on his Stoke rival in a repeat of the 2007 final.

Hamilton had earlier kick-started his challenge in the event as he overcame Richie George 5-2, coming from a leg down to claim victory.

Former World Youth Champion Smith, meanwhile, edged past Peter Wright 5-4 to secure his qualification from Group F after picking up back-to-back victories.

Smith's result eliminated Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan, who was a 5-3 loser to Simon Whitlock as the Australian picked up his first win in a televised game since August by coming from 2-0 down to take victory.

Whitlock will now meet Wright on Tuesday as he bids to win through to the knockout stages, and said: "That's really great for my confidence because I've not won a game on TV for a while, so it's nice to finally win one again.

"I have been struggling lately but I've been working very hard on my game. I've got a win under my belt and I'm still in the tournament."

Mervyn King edged through to the last 16 as he secured qualification from Group G with a narrow 5-4 win over James Wade.

King had allowed a 9-2 lead to slip as he lost last Sunday's final of The Masters to Wade, but the tables were turned as the left-hander missed match darts in the final two legs to allow the Norfolk ace back in for the win.

Crowd favourite Tony O'Shea delighted the Wolves Civic faithful as he kept alive his hopes with a 5-3 win over Jamie Caven, who was eliminated after a second successive defeat.

The Stockport ace was serenaded by his walk-on song "Hey Baby" throughout his clash with Caven as he bounced back from Saturday's narrow defeat to King in style.

O'Shea opened up a three-leg lead by punishing nine early missed doubles from Caven, and he also led 4-1 before the Derby ace hit two double 18 finishes to hit back.

The 53-year-old, though, punished more missed doubles from Caven by hitting tops in the eighth leg to seal victory, giving himself a great chance to qualify for the knockout stages in Tuesday's final Group G game with Wade.

"I've struggled with my doubles for a while but I hit the important ones today so I'm happy," said O'Shea. "To be honest, the support of the crowd helped pull me through.

"It was a brilliant atmosphere and it's great to have support like that, and I really enjoyed it."

O'Shea, a three-time BDO Lakeside Championship runner-up, added: "James Wade's on a hot streak of form at the minute so he will be hard to beat, but this win gives me a chance to qualify so it's all to play for."

Stephen Bunting's excellent debut in the Grand Slam of Darts continued as he averaged 102.73 in a 5-2 defeat of Gary Anderson to secure progression from Group H.

Holland's Wesley Harms now faces a decisive clash with Anderson on Tuesday after he took out a 156 checkout on his way to a 5-3 win over Dean Winstanley, who is knocked out following two defeats.

Monday night sees Groups A-D complete their group matches at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, including PDC World Champion Michael van Gerwen's all-Dutch clash with Jan Dekker in Group A along with Kim Huybrechts' meeting with Darren Webster.

Terry Jenkins faces Ronny Huybrechts in a Group B decider to determine who qualifies alongside Alan Norris, who faces the eliminated Scott Waites.

Group C sees a repeat of May's World Youth Championship final between Keegan Brown and Rowby-John Rodriguez as they bid to qualify alongside Dave Chisnall, who faces winless Adrian Lewis.

The Group D decider sees Vincent van der Voort play Robbie Green as they bid to progress to the last 16 with Raymond van Barneveld, who takes on eliminated Robert Thornton.

Tickets can still be purchased in person from the Wolves Civic Box Office, by calling 0870 320 7000 or online via www.wolvescivic.co.uk.

SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM OF DARTS.

Sunday November 9.

Evening Session (7pm-11pm).

Groups E-H Second Games.

Dean Winstanley 3-5 Wesley Harms (H).

Andy Hamilton 5-2 Richie George (E).

Tony O'Shea 5-3 Jamie Caven (G).

Simon Whitlock 5-3 Brendan Dolan (F).

Peter Wright 4-5 Michael Smith (F).

Phil Taylor 5-1 Christian Kist (E).

Stephen Bunting 5-2 Gary Anderson (H).

James Wade 4-5 Mervyn King (G).

Monday November 10 (7pm-11pm).

Groups A-D Final Games.

Alan Norris v Scott Waites (B).

Raymond van Barneveld v Robert Thornton (D).

Adrian Lewis v Dave Chisnall (C).

Michael van Gerwen v Jan Dekker (A) Kim Huybrechts v Darren Webster (A).

Keegan Brown v Rowby-John Rodriguez (C).

Vincent van der Voort v Robbie Green (D).

Terry Jenkins v Ronny Huybrechts (B).

Tuesday November 11 (7pm-11pm).

Groups E-H Final Games.

Michael Smith v Brendan Dolan (F).

Stephen Bunting v Dean Winstanley (H).

Mervyn King v Jamie Caven (G).

Christian Kist v Richie George (E).

Phil Taylor v Andy Hamilton (E).

Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock (F).

James Wade v Tony O'Shea (G).

Gary Anderson v Wesley Harms (H).