If the first day of the World Grand Prix seemed rather close then day two was the opposite, as only one game finished 2-1. Three of the four Irish qualifiers competed and like Brendan Dolan on Monday they all suffered the same fate.
Day 2 opened with Andy Hamilton taking on Dennis Priestly; the veteran Preistly made a hard fought go of it but still lost 2-0 to Hamilton. Priestly was ahead in both sets but couldn't keep the lead and that was what ultimately cost him a place in the second round. Mark Walsh then perhaps caused a little surprise when he saw off another veteran in Denis Ovens, again winning 2-0. However it wasn't as close as the previous match with Ovens not taking a leg until the second set.
The only 2-1 finish was Colin Osbourne beating Dutchman Co Stompe; Stompe should have took the opening set from 2-0 ahead but failed before equalising in the second set. Osbourne then went on to win the deciding third set 3-1. Wes Newton probably produced the best form of the night when he demolished Colin Lloyd 2-0; he managed to win six out of seven legs in his most clinical performance on TV.
World number three James Wade also had a comfortable win over Irish qualifier Mick McGowan, Wade also managed to win six out of seven legs though he clearly wasn't at his best. Neither was the World's number two Raymond Van Barneveld who also won six out of seven legs against 69 year old Irish qualifier John MacGowan. The veteran did give one leg away after he miscounted a 49 and checked out a 39!
The penultimate match of the night and possibly the most anticipated of the round was the all Aussie tie between Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson. Unfortunately the game didn't really live up to it's prominent build up with both players struggling to start with doubles. Whitlock though did slightly better than Nicholson and saw off the up-and-coming Geordie-Aussie 2-0.
The final game of the night saw the final Irish qualifier beat the dust; Welshman Barrie Bates silenced the partisan crowd beating another up-and-coming star William O'Connor with another 2-0 scoreline. It looked like the pressure of the home crowd got to O'Connor and he looked like a rabbit in the headlights, unfortunately for Ireland.
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