DARTAGEDDON: Winmau World Masters (BBC) vs. Grand Slam of Darts (ITV)

Ah. I had not realised the Winmaus only lasts this weekend. They're already on the quarter finals...

Still, John Walton had a nine-darter in the first round! He's currently doing Tony O'Shea over.

And he's through to face Daz Fitton in the semis tomorrow, and looked marvellous in so doing.

The other quarters: Martin Adams vs. Robert Thornton, Ted Hankey vs. Martin Atkins. Hankey-Atkins about to be underway, I have to head back to work.

No idea what's happening in the Grand Slam right now.

Is on ITV4 now. 32 of the world's best from both organisations going head to head. Started watching last night having not realised it was happening. Grand wee match between Alan Tabern and Simon Whitlock, should be in for a good week or so of arrers.

Up now - reigning BDO champ Mark Webster against slack-jawed Dutch wonder-teen Michael van Gerwen. Both lost their opening matches, this should be very classy. Unfortunately, Peter Drury is your commentator.

Pre-match vignette reveals Webby is still training to be a plumber.

First-round matches here at best of nine legs, and for some reason they have an interval after four. Webster's gone into the interval 4-0 up, and playing pretty sturdy stuff - however, van Gerwen is completely all over the place. He had a good nine or twelve darts at his checkout in the last leg, under naff-all pressure... couldn't get it done. Anything other than a whitewash here would be a huge shock now.

And a whitewash it is. Webster's composure was highly impressive, but van Gerwen was basically awful.

Up now - Gaz Anderson vs. Kevin Painter, another one that, on paper, looks very well matched. On paper. The four matches thus far have seen three 5-0 wins, with the other being a 5-1.

Anyone else watching this? It's apparently streaming at http://itv.com/itv4, though being on a Mac it's having strops at me.

Take that as a no, but this is a grand wee match thus far - Anderson's leading 3-1 at interval and playing some really exceptional stuff. Painter's consistently landing just outside the trebles; not playing terribly by any stretch, just wanting a bit of luck.

Anderson takes it 5-2, but the last leg was torture - Painter had three darts at 40, missed all of them, then failed to finish with his next six. Let Anderson in from nowhere, he took two darts to land double-top. Good match generally though, Anderson's three-dart average a whisper under 97.

Up next - Terry Jenkins vs. Colin Lloyd. Think this'll be the point where I go supermarket.

Working from home today, but I'm going to take my lappy into the living room and put this on in the background.

And now - Hawaii 501 vs Nastya Dobromyslova. Her average was higher than Mardle's yesterday. This could be very interesting.

Or not. 4-0 to Mardle - he's finishing, and she really, really isn't. She seems stuck at firing for the 20s when she should move round the board - inexperience more than owt else.

Except suddenly it's 4-3 and Dobz has the darts! She's been excellent since the interval, too, although Mardle's fallen off in inverse proportion...

4-4!

Mardle just hangs on, 5-4. What a bloody game. The lady is a star, no question about it.

It's been a few years since I'd seen a Wayne Mardle interview, I'd forgotten how much value he is - "Phil Taylor wouldn't have said anything. Phil just beats people. It's the likes of... Kevin Painter and Alan Warriner-Little, they make me sick..."

Eight more matches from 7.30pm on ITV4 again, the winners of yesterday's matches play each other. Highlights include Andy Hamilton vs. Alan Tabern, Phil Taylor vs. Andy Jenkins, and Robert Thornton vs. Raymond van Barneveld in the probable match of the night. Darryl Fitton's game with Paul Nicholson will also be fun, primarily because the audience... doesn't really get on with Paul Nicholson. For those of us more used to watching the BDO darts (i.e. me), the crowd noise when the players are throwing here is quite a shock.

Just rolled back into it - Fitton's just beaten Nicholson 5-2, and looked very, very good doing it. He'll take the world championship one day, surely.

Up now - Darin Young vs. Wes Newton. I think Darin (who is American) may be taking the stage to the strains of Cledus T. Judd. Which doesn't happen every day.

Wes Newton has gone for "Crazy, Crazy Nights". Not quite so unusual, really.

2-2 at interval - OK thus far, but both started unravelling a fair bit towards the end. This leg so far has been fairly terrible.

Newton 5-3 in the end. Precious little to write home about.

The Power up next, though.

The kid in the audience with the Mystery Jets haircut is ever so slightly out of place.

2-2 - Jenkins had the early momentum, but Taylor's taken the last two legs and is growing in strength. Jenkins isn't playing too badly, but he's looking a bit hurried, bit flustered. Taylor must be favourite to take this at present.

JENKINS TAKES IT! 5-4, incredible stuff - the Pompey lad had to be right on top of his game, and by 'eck was he ever, 104 checkout to bring it home... goodness me, that was amazing, amazing, marvellous.

And a side order of amazing for good measure.

And to follow that - Thornton-Barney. This is gonna be a heck of an evening of darts.

5-3 Barney - it was much closer than that, though, Thornton only missing by tiny margins on several occasions, but Barney... it's difficult to define exactly what he does so well, cos his throwing was hella inconsistent at several points during the match, but when time came for him to really bring the goods, he brought them, never left Thornton with any easy outshots. Barney can really turn the screw, perhaps, knows just when to apply the pressure.

Three-dart averages, incidentally - 97.87 for Thornton, 101.38 for Barneveld. Crikey.

Two lower-profile games now - Denis Ovens vs. James Wade next, then John Part vs. Kevin McDine.

James Wade has just beaten Denis Ovens 5-3, having been 3-1 down. His 3-dart average is 111.03. Ovens' was 95.83. Christ on a pedalo...

And we back. Currently - Alan Tabern vs. Brian Woods in Battle Of The Walking Asterix Characters, Tabern leading 4-0, Woods looking terrible.

5-1 Tabs in the end. Over his last two matches, Woods hit one double from 25. Yikes.

And now van Gerwen vs. Colin McGarry. This might not be one of the highlights of the evening.

5-1 MVG - found his best darts one day too late for it to matter, sends McGarry out and puts Mark Webster through.

It has just struck me that Webby really looks an awful lot like Our Very Own Nick Southall. Except with lighter hair. And taller.

Slo-mo very much emphasising MvG's bingo-wings. Eww.

Webby vs. Mervyn "The Surname" King next, both through to the knockout phase.

3-1 to King at interval, he's looking impressively steady. Nothing outstanding, but unlike a lot of players in this tournament he's yet to throw a really poor set or make any big mistakes. It's gonna take Webster making a big outshot to turn this round, I feel, doing something spectacular to knock King from his rhythm - the Welshman's looked in decent nick, but missing three darts at double top to hold his throw has rather set him back.

King takes it 5-3, tops their group and awaits the runner up of Group D, with Webby getting the winner. King's looking decent, but I can see him having trouble against the very, very big guns - Barney, Taylor and so forth. Webster's just not quite dominating enough at the oche - he's a very good, consistent player, can run the best players close, but he's a bit more vulnerable than the highest echelon of players. Which we can't pretend is really the BDO players anymore, though the likes of Webby and Whitlock are knocking on the door.

And now Part and Mardle - Mardle needs either a win or a very close loss to stand any chance of going through, Part's already qualified and will most likely top the group, unless he loses and Kev McDine blitzes Dobromyslova in their match later.

Mardle 5-3. AWESOME match, Mardle really on fire, 4-0 up, then Part plugs himself in after the interval, 3 on the spin... and then Mardle took it with a mind-blowing 158 checkout. Somehow, though, the camera managed to miss the double 19. Which sort of took the shine off it a little.

And now, THURRR POW-URRR vs. Vince van der Voort. Whoever wins this takes the group, after Andy Jenkins managed to lose to Phill Nixon earlier. Whoever loses goes out. Taylor must surely be favourite, but after last night... who knows?

Phil Taylor is certainly much better at shaving than Vinny.

5-1, not perhaps peak Taylor, but good enough that no other result ever seemed likely. He's not really looked like he's in the kind of form that'll win the tournament thus far, tho. Not thus far.

And now, Andy Hamilton and the man who takes not saying much to staggering new heights, your friend and mine, Simon Whitlock. A win for Whitlock and he's through, a loss and Alan Tabern's through. Hamilton has almost certainly won the group, and will face Andy Jenkins; either Tabern or Whitlock gets THURRRRR POW-URRRRR.

Righto, baaack. Last 16 time - Phil Taylor vs. Andy Hamilton about to start on ITV4. Have missed all the matches thus far today due to sleeping, no spoilers plz.

(I'm assuming other people are watching, but my overbearing charisma is leaving no room for anyone else to post on the thread)

The commentary team have now spoiled it for me anyhow. On the other hand - Whitlock and Webby through! Yay!