FLAMBOYANT Devon Petersen produced a brilliant display of darts to defeat Kurt Parry in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy first round as the £115,000 PDC European Tour event kicked off on Friday at the Victoria Stadium.
The South African opened the match in style hitting his first of three maximums in the match and then he never looked back averaging 98.95 on his way to victory.
The victory for Petersen sets-up a mouth-watering match against the current World Champion and number one seed Gary Anderson on Saturday evening in the second round.
Elsewhere in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, Nathan Derry overcame Andy Parsons 6-3 in the opening match of the first round.
Derry, who recently reached the Last 32 of the UK Open, raced into a commanding 5-1 lead, only for Parsons to take the next two legs and close the gap to 5-3. Derry wasn’t going to let that affect his darts and sealed victory in the ninth leg to set-up a second round tie against Ian White.
Belgian youngster Dimitri van den Bergh had to hold his nerve in a last leg decider to set-up a second round match against fellow countryman Kim Huybrechts.
Van den Bergh and Duijvenbode both traded 180s in the early part of the game, but it was the Belgianwho progressed 6-5.
2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy finalist Jamie Lewis overcame Brett Claydon 6-4 to secure his progression in the tournament.
The Welshman raced into a 5-2 lead only for Claydon to win the next two legs to pull the score back to 5-4. That wasn’t going to stop Lewis from claiming victory with the youngster taking out double 16 to set-up a second round tie against Michael Smith.
Brian Woods quickly silenced the home support for Manuel Vilerio with two ton plus finishes in the opening two legs as he defeated the Host Nation Qualifier.
Woods started with a bang taking out 118 in the opening leg and then followed this up with an impressive 164 finish in the second leg.
The Englishman also took the third leg, but then Vilerio gave his home support something to cheer about by winning the next two legs.
The Gibraltarian qualifier’s campaign soon came to an end, though, with Woods winning the next three legs to set up a second round match against last year's runner-up Steve Beaton.
Wayne Jones booked his place in the second round with a 6-5 win over Andrew Gilding, and now takes on the number four seed Peter Wright in the second round.
Gerwyn Price silenced a passionate Gibraltarian crowd with a 6-2 victory the over home favourite Dylan Duo.
The Welshman raced into a 2-0 lead only for Duo to take the next two legs to level.
Back-to-back 180s in the fifth leg helped Price to regain the elad, and he didn't let up by winning the next three legs to set up a second round match against the number six seed Robert Thornton.
Kevin Painter opened his Gibraltar Darts Trophy campaign with a 6-3 victory over the Austrian youngster Rowby-John Rodriguez.
The former Players Championship Finals winner raced into a commanding 4-1 lead only for Rodriguez to take the next two legs to close the gap to 4-3.
Painter then won the next two legs to secure the victory to set up a tasty second round match against the current world number one Michael van Gerwen.
Spanish newcomer Cristo Reyes hit three 180s on his way to an impressive 6-3 victory over Mark Webster, which sets up him for a meeting with the defending champion James Wade in round two.
Jelle Klaasen produced the first whitewash of the tournament with a 6-0 win over Daryl Gurney.
The Dutchman took the opening leg with a 160 checkout and then went on to average 96.97 to set up a second round tie against another Northern Irish ace, the number seven seed Brendan Dolan.
Benito van de Pas followed in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Klaasen with a scintillating performance to overcome Wes Newton 6-0, evoking memories of his win over van Gerwen in Gibraltar last year.
The Dutchman recorded the highest average of the first round of 101.33 and now meets the number 11 seed Simon Whitlock in the second round.
The remaining two matches on the opening day saw Andy Smith defeat Andy Jenkins 6-4 to progress to a meeting with Stephen Bunting before Antony Lopez won the all-Gibraltar battle against John Duo 6-3, meaning he now plays Mervyn King.
The Gibraltar Darts Trophy event will be streamed live online worldwide throughout the weekend via www.LIVEPDC.TV and the following bookmakers' websites:
www.betfair.com
www.coral.co.uk
www.ladbrokes.com
www.paddypower.com
www.unibet.co.uk
Tickets for the tournament are still available and can be purchased in person at the Victoria Stadium on the day of the event (doors open one hour before play commences.
Tickets can also be purchased by calling +350 200 47592 or +350 200 41837 and via email on mschy.info@gibraltar.gov.gi .
2015 Gibraltar Darts Trophy
Friday March 20
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm GMT)
Nathan Derry 6-3 Andy Parsons
Tony Newell 6-4 Steve West
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Brett Claydon 4-6 Jamie Lewis
Devon Petersen 6-2 Kurt Parry
Ronny Huybrechts 2-6 Kevin McDine
Manuel Vilerio 2-6 Brian Woods
Joe Murnan 5-6 Mike Zuydwijk
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm GMT)
Wayne Jones 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Dylan Duo 2-6 Gerwyn Price
Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-6 Kevin Painter
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Mark Webster
Daryl Gurney 0-6 Jelle Klaasen
Andy Smith 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Wes Newton 0-6 Benito van de Pas
John Duo 3-6 Antony Lopez
All games are the best of 11 legs
To see the Draw Bracket and Second Round schedule of play, click here .