Gabriel Clemens produced a remarkable fightback to stun Peter Wright on the opening day of the NEO.bet International Darts Open, as Martin Schindler also impressed in Riesa.
Day One of the year’s third European Tour event saw 16 first round matches take place at the WT Energiesysteme Arena, with Clemens’ comeback dominating the headlines.
Wright converted a quartet of ton-plus finishes to establish a 4-1 buffer, following up a remarkable two-dart 110 finish in leg one with 121, 100 and 116 checkouts to take control of the contest.
However, Clemens capitalised on a mid-game slump from the Scot, before surviving three match darts in a nerve-shredding decider to advance to a second round showdown against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Clemens was joined in round two by his World Cup partner Martin Schindler, who breezed past debutant Jan Dueckers in an all-German affair, courtesy of a 97 average and five maximums.
World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall survived a major scare to account for debutant Owen Bates, surviving two match darts after Bates conjured up a 170 finish on his way to levelling from 5-2 down.
Elsewhere, Gian van Veen made it back-to-back wins over Raymond van Barneveld on the big stage, punishing a profligate performance from the Dutch legend to book a meeting with 2018 World Champion Rob Cross.
Cameron Menzies put in a devastating display of scoring to spoil Simon Whitlock’s European Tour return, landing five 180s and averaging 101 despite missing 18 darts at double.
Chris Dobey – a winner on the Players Championship circuit on Monday – dispatched Dylan Slevin to continue his fine form, defying a ton-plus average from the Irishman to set up a tussle against Krzysztof Ratajski.
Ten-time TV title winner James Wade produced a typically efficient performance in seeing off an in-form Mike De Decker, and his next assignment will see him take on Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko.
Jose de Sousa will play World Champion Luke Humphries in Saturday’s second round, after winning six of the last seven legs to defeat Norway’s Cor Dekker 6-3 – aided by a 160 finish midway through the contest.
Earlier in the day, UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh ran out a comfortable 6-2 winner against Czech qualifier Alexander Masek, and his reward is a meeting with 2022 UK Open winner Danny Noppert.
Richard Veenstra landed a brace of ton-plus finishes to complete a comeback win over Andrew Gilding, while Mervyn King’s European Tour return culminated in a 6-3 defeat against William O’Connor.
Brendan Dolan produced one of his best performances on the European Tour to win through a high-quality tussle against Kai Gotthardt, averaging 103 to set up a showdown against reigning champion Gerwyn Price.
Dolan’s fellow countryman Daryl Gurney also stormed through to round two in emphatic style, courtesy of a whitewash win against debutant Patrick Klingelhoefer.
However, there was success for Host Nation Qualifier Michael Unterbuchner, who fended off a late rally from Luke Woodhouse to celebrate his first win on the European Tour stage.
Ritchie Edhouse and Callan Rydz were also convincing winners on Friday afternoon, closing out comprehensive 6-1 victories against Jitse van der Wal and Lee Evans respectively.
The 2024 NEO.bet International Darts Open continues on Saturday, as the second round takes place across two sessions in Riesa.
Defending champion Price will take centre stage as he begins his bid for a record-extending fifth International Darts Open crown, while Humphries opens his challenge for back-to-back European Tour titles.
The tournament is being broadcast live on Viaplay, DAZN and PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' websites worldwide.
Click here for match stats & results.
2024 NEO.bet International Darts Open
Friday April 12
First Round
Afternoon Session
Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 Jitse van der Wal
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Kai Gotthardt
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Alexander Masek
Richard Veenstra 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Patrick Klingelhoefer
Callan Rydz 6-1 Lee Evans
William O’Connor 6-3 Mervyn King
Michael Unterbuchner 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session
Jose De Sousa 6-3 Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey 6-1 Dylan Slevin
Martin Schindler 6-1 Jan Dueckers
James Wade 6-3 Mike De Decker
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Gian van Veen 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Gabriel Clemens 6-5 Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Owen Bates
Saturday April 13
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Ross Smith v William O'Connor
Damon Heta v Callan Rydz
Ryan Searle v Daryl Gurney
Krzysztof Ratajski v Chris Dobey
Danny Noppert v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Stephen Bunting v Michael Unterbuchner
Jonny Clayton v Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith v Ritchie Edhouse
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Ricardo Pietreczko v James Wade
Dave Chisnall v Richard Veenstra
Joe Cullen v Martin Schindler
Gerwyn Price v Brendan Dolan
Josh Rock v Cameron Menzies
Luke Humphries v Jose de Sousa
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Gabriel Clemens
Rob Cross v Gian van Veen