Taylor wore glasses in his 5-4 defeat by Ted Hankey

Phil Taylor ditched his glasses to defeat Wes Newton and progress to round two of the Grand Slam of Darts.

The 15-time world champion wore spectacles in his opening two games, winning once and losing once.

Needing victory to advance in the competition he has won three times, Taylor prevailed 5-3 in Wolverhampton.

The 50-year-old said: "I'm very relieved. I was very nervous beforehand but I played better without the glasses and reacted well."

Taylor wore glasses for the first time on the oche when he beat Michael van Gerwen, but his progression to round two was put in doubt when he lost to fellow Stoke-on-Trent player Ted Hankey.

However, without the spectacles, the world number one recorded a three-dart average of 108.25 to see off Newton and book a meeting with Ronnie Baxter on Friday.

Hankey came from 2-0 down to edge out Van Gerwen 5-4 and preserve his 100% record in Group H.

The two-time world champion will meet Steve Beaton in the second round.

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