Kyle Anderson, Vincent van der Voort, Jamie Caven and Joe Cullen all made it through to the second-round of the European Darts Trophy, whilst Mervyn King, Robbie Green, Max Hopp and Jamie Lewis all suffered early exits at the RWE Arena in Muelheim on Friday.
Kyle Anderson produced one of the performances of the first-round, as he whitewashed Darren Webster to set up a second-round clash with International Darts Open finalist, Kim Huybrechts. ‘The Original’ was in fine form, averaging 95, landing three maximums and hitting 6 of his 11 attempts at a double.
Former European Tour winner Vincent van der Voort breezed into round-two with a convincing 6-1 win over home-favourite Max Hopp. The World-Youth champion was considerably below par; Vincent took full advantage, averaging 95.5 and hitting three 180’s, to set up an enthralling second-round clash with his compatriot Jelle Klaasen.
Jamie Caven and Devon Petersen overcame major scares, as they survived match darts to defeat Kevin Munch and Matthew Dennant respectively. Munch took out a fine 100 finish to force a last-leg decider, but he squandered darts for victory. Caven snatched the win with a brilliant 95 checkout, to set up a meeting with Dave Chisnall on Saturday.
However, Petersen’s victory was even more dramatic. The South-African trailed Dennant 5-3 and survived four match darts from his opponent. However, he produced high-quality finishes at key moments, taking out shots of 114 and 140 en route to victory, as he prepares to take on Ian White in round-two.
German Darts Masters semi-finalist Joe Cullen endured double-trouble as he squeezed past new-dad Jamie Lewis. Lewis, who became dad to daughter Jorgie on Thursday, trailed 5-2, but was let back in after Cullen missed 11 match darts over three legs. Nevertheless, ‘The Rockstar’ made no mistake in the decider, sealing victory with a brilliant 12-darter.
Andy Smith made a triumphant return to the European Tour stage, as he thrashed Robbie Green 6-1. ‘The Pieman’ landed two maximums, averaged in excess of 98 and converted 55% of his attempts at double to ease past the former Lakeside semi-finalist. Smith faces a battle to retain his tour card, and faces second seed Peter Wright on Saturday.
Belgian hotshot Dimitri van den Bergh caused a minor upset as he defeated former major finalist Mervyn King. Van den Bergh averaged 93.24, fired in three maximums and hit 43% of his doubles, to set up a second-round tie against three-time European Tour winner Michael Smith.
Josh Payne produced an inspired comeback from 4-2 down to defeat Spanish star Cristo Reyes on Friday afternoon. Reyes led 4-2 after Payne experienced a series of unfortunate bounce-outs, but the 22-year-old rallied superbly, hitting 60% of his doubles and reeling off four successive legs to seal a second-round berth.
Former World-Youth champion Keegan Brown came through an attritional clash against host-nation qualifier Justin Webers, to set up a second-round match with world number one Michael van Gerwen. Webers posted a miserly 66.97 average, as Brown landed four maximums to prevail 6-1.
Justin Pipe set up a second-round clash against eight-time major winner James Wade with an emphatic 6-1 victory against Ritchie Edhouse. Neither player were at their best, but Pipe was far more efficient in the finishing department.
Ricky Evans silenced the Muelheim crowd as he eased past an under-par Jyhan Artut. Evans hit two maximums and averaged 86.19, as he capitalised on an indifferent display from the German, who averaged just 77 and hit one from his nine attempts at double.
Andy Jenkins rolled back the years as he saw off Steve West in the opening round on Friday evening. ‘Rocky’ was in excellent form, hitting 55% of his doubles and converting finishes of 78, 107 x2 and 128, to set up a showdown with Alan Norris on Saturday afternoon.
Vincent Kamphuis secured his first ever victory on the European Tour as he edged out Ronny Huybrechts in a tense last-leg decider. The Dutchman fired in three maximums and converted a crucial 156 finish to set up a second-round clash with recent International Darts Open champion, Mensur Suljovic.
Martin Schindler delighted the German crowd as he came from 2-0 down to defeat European Tour debutant Janos Vegso 6-3. The Hungarian started strongly by winning the opening two legs, but Vegso’s 21% on the doubles cost him dearly, as Schindler won six of the next seven legs to book his spot in the last 32.
Quick-fire Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena will face two-time Players Championship winner Gerwyn Price in Saturday’s second-round, after overcoming Simon Stevenson in a scrappy affair. Wattimena failed to register a maximum, but still prevailed with a modest 85.9 average.
Zoran Lerchbacher produced an impressive performance to dump out former Players Championship winner Joe Murnan in round-one. Lerchbacher averaged 94.55 and hit 55% of his doubles, to book a second-round showdown against nine-time major finalist Terry Jenkins.
HappyBet European Darts Trophy
Friday September 9
First Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-2 Joe Murnan
Vincent Kamphuis 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts
Martin Schindler 6-3 Janos Vegso
Josh Payne 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Andy Smith 6-1 Robbie Green
Keegan Brown 6-1 Justin Webers
Dimitri Van de Bergh 6-3 Mervyn King
Justin Pipe 6-1 Ritchie Edhouse
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Simon Stevenson
Ricky Evans 6-1 Jyhan Artut
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Steve West
Kyle Anderson 6-0 Darren Webster
Jamie Caven 6-5 Kevin Munch
Devon Petersen 6-5 Matthew Dennant
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Max Hopp
Joe Cullen 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Saturday September 10
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Robert Thornton v Martin Schindler
Terry Jenkins v Zoran Lerchbacher
Gerwyn Price v Jermaine Wattimena
Mensur Suljovic v Vincent Kamphuis
James Wade v Justin Pipe
Alan Norris v Andy Jenkins
Michael Smith v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Ian White v Devon Petersen
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Stephen Bunting v Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts v Kyle Anderson
Dave Chisnall v Jamie Caven
Peter Wright v Andy Smith
Jelle Klaasen v Vincent van der Voort
Michael van Gerwen v Keegan Brown
Benito van de Pas v Josh Payne
Simon Whitlock v Ricky Evans
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