DEVON Petersen stunned defending European Darts Open champion Peter Wright as he won 6-5 in Dusseldorf on Saturday.
Wright – who defeated Simon Whitlock to take the title last year – struggled against the Spartan who got off to a storming start as he raced into a 5-1 lead at the Maritim Hotel.
Snakebite would begin to show his class though as he hit back to secure the next four legs and take the match into a decider, where Petersen would seal the dramatic win in style with a spectacular 121 checkout and 12-dart leg.
Whitlock has reached the final in Dusseldorf for the previous two years and got off to a winning start again as he edged out Joe Cullen 6-5. There was never more than a leg between the pair in an evenly-matched encounter before the Wizard held his nerve in the deciding leg to take victory.
There would also be joy for the Dutch trio of Michael van Gerwen, Vincent van der Voort and Jelle Klaasen as they all secured comfortable victories on Saturday evening.
Van Gerwen began his pursuit of a fifth European Tour title in 2015 with a 6-1 win against youngster Jamie Lewis. The world number one was not at his best but was rarely troubled as he kicked off with a 108 checkout and breezed to victory with the Welshman registering just one leg in reply.
Van der Voort would also enjoy a simple start to his weekend as he beat youngster Rowby-John Rodriguez with some deadly double hitting. After beginning with a 116 checkout, van der Voort did not miss another double until the penultimate leg, before regaining his composure to wrap up the win with a 13-darter.
Last weekend’s Players Championship winner Klaasen continued his stunning form as he produced another fine display to beat Dave Chisnall 6-1 with a 104.96 average. There was barely time to draw breath in the electrifying encounter as Klaasen wrapped up the win in just ten minutes against Chisnall who averaged 101.74 himself and kicked off with six perfect darts in two legs.
There would be less joy for Dutch youngsters Dirk van Duijvenbode and Benito van de Pas though as they were beaten by James Wade 6-0 and Johnny Haines 6-3 respectively.
International Darts Open winner Michael Smith kicked off his Dusseldorf weekend in style as he beat Austrian Mensur Suljovic 6-4 in a brilliant opening game of the evening session, landing six 180s in the process.
The high-quality darts would keep coming as Kim Huybrechts (105.47) defeated home favourite Jyhan Artut (104.14) 6-4. Huybrechts began and finished the match in style as he landed 11-darters in the first and final legs to wrap up the win.
Mark Webster was also on top form as he averaged 101.56, recorded three 12-dart legs and hit four maximums in a comprehensive 6-1 win over Steve Beaton.
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up Justin Pipe’s weekend began well as he be beat the impressive Kevin McDine 6-4 in the opening match of day two, landing a brilliant 161 checkout in the process.
Terry Jenkins, another of this year’s European Tour finalists, was in superb form as he averaged 102.73 and kicked off with a brilliant 160 checkout in a thumping 6-1 victory over John Henderson.
Fifth seed Brendan Dolan also enjoyed a comfortable passage into Sunday’s final day as he beat Mark Walsh 6-2, completing the job with a superb 12-dart leg as he checked out 127.
Mervyn King would also be celebrating an impressive win as he beat Wes Newton 6-3 in a high-quality encounter that played host to eight 180s.
Robert Thornton booked his place in the third round in dramatic fashion as he defeated youngster Dimitri van den Bergh 6-5 in a lively match-up in Dusseldorf. Van den Bergh started confidently, taking out 126 to move 4-2 in front, before The Thorn struck back to take three of the next four legs to force a decider where he checked out 91 to take the win.
Alan Norris completes the Last 16 line-up as he also won through in a deciding leg, against Ian White. The former Lakeside runner-up looked to be closing in on a comfortable win as he moved 5-2 in front before Diamond hit back to force a decider where Norris would eventually take out eight to book his place in round three.
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Saturday July 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Justin Pipe (10) 6-4 Kevin McDine
Terry Jenkins (12) 6-1 John Henderson
Brendan Dolan (5) 6-2 Mark Walsh
Johnny Haines 6-3 Benito van de Pas (16)
Mark Webster 6-1 Steve Beaton (15)
Mervyn King (9) 6-3 Wes Newton
Robert Thornton (11) 6-5 Dimitri van den Bergh
Alan Norris 6-5 Ian White (8)
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Michael Smith (4) 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
James Wade (2) 6-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kim Huybrechts (13) 6-4 Jyhan Artut
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Vincent van der Voort (7) 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Dave Chisnall (14)
Simon Whitlock (6) 6-5 Joe Cullen
Devon Petersen 6-5 Peter Wright (3)
Sunday July 12
Afternoon Session (1pm – 5pm local time, 12pm – 4pm, BST)
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Johnny Haines
Alan Norris v Mervyn King (9)
Brendan Dolan (5) v Terry Jenkins (12)
Michael Smith (4) v Kim Huybrechts (13)
James Wade (2) v Mark Webster
Vincent van der Voort (7) v Justin Pipe (10)
Simon Whitlock (6) v Robert Thornton (11)
Devon Petersen v Jelle Klaasen
Wright – who defeated Simon Whitlock to take the title last year – struggled against the Spartan who got off to a storming start as he raced into a 5-1 lead at the Maritim Hotel.
Snakebite would begin to show his class though as he hit back to secure the next four legs and take the match into a decider, where Petersen would seal the dramatic win in style with a spectacular 121 checkout and 12-dart leg.
Whitlock has reached the final in Dusseldorf for the previous two years and got off to a winning start again as he edged out Joe Cullen 6-5. There was never more than a leg between the pair in an evenly-matched encounter before the Wizard held his nerve in the deciding leg to take victory.
There would also be joy for the Dutch trio of Michael van Gerwen, Vincent van der Voort and Jelle Klaasen as they all secured comfortable victories on Saturday evening.
Van Gerwen began his pursuit of a fifth European Tour title in 2015 with a 6-1 win against youngster Jamie Lewis. The world number one was not at his best but was rarely troubled as he kicked off with a 108 checkout and breezed to victory with the Welshman registering just one leg in reply.
Van der Voort would also enjoy a simple start to his weekend as he beat youngster Rowby-John Rodriguez with some deadly double hitting. After beginning with a 116 checkout, van der Voort did not miss another double until the penultimate leg, before regaining his composure to wrap up the win with a 13-darter.
Last weekend’s Players Championship winner Klaasen continued his stunning form as he produced another fine display to beat Dave Chisnall 6-1 with a 104.96 average. There was barely time to draw breath in the electrifying encounter as Klaasen wrapped up the win in just ten minutes against Chisnall who averaged 101.74 himself and kicked off with six perfect darts in two legs.
There would be less joy for Dutch youngsters Dirk van Duijvenbode and Benito van de Pas though as they were beaten by James Wade 6-0 and Johnny Haines 6-3 respectively.
International Darts Open winner Michael Smith kicked off his Dusseldorf weekend in style as he beat Austrian Mensur Suljovic 6-4 in a brilliant opening game of the evening session, landing six 180s in the process.
The high-quality darts would keep coming as Kim Huybrechts (105.47) defeated home favourite Jyhan Artut (104.14) 6-4. Huybrechts began and finished the match in style as he landed 11-darters in the first and final legs to wrap up the win.
Mark Webster was also on top form as he averaged 101.56, recorded three 12-dart legs and hit four maximums in a comprehensive 6-1 win over Steve Beaton.
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up Justin Pipe’s weekend began well as he be beat the impressive Kevin McDine 6-4 in the opening match of day two, landing a brilliant 161 checkout in the process.
Terry Jenkins, another of this year’s European Tour finalists, was in superb form as he averaged 102.73 and kicked off with a brilliant 160 checkout in a thumping 6-1 victory over John Henderson.
Fifth seed Brendan Dolan also enjoyed a comfortable passage into Sunday’s final day as he beat Mark Walsh 6-2, completing the job with a superb 12-dart leg as he checked out 127.
Mervyn King would also be celebrating an impressive win as he beat Wes Newton 6-3 in a high-quality encounter that played host to eight 180s.
Robert Thornton booked his place in the third round in dramatic fashion as he defeated youngster Dimitri van den Bergh 6-5 in a lively match-up in Dusseldorf. Van den Bergh started confidently, taking out 126 to move 4-2 in front, before The Thorn struck back to take three of the next four legs to force a decider where he checked out 91 to take the win.
Alan Norris completes the Last 16 line-up as he also won through in a deciding leg, against Ian White. The former Lakeside runner-up looked to be closing in on a comfortable win as he moved 5-2 in front before Diamond hit back to force a decider where Norris would eventually take out eight to book his place in round three.
Live Scores
Follow Live Scores throughout the tournament through the PDC Live Scores Website - http://live.dartsdata.com
Live Coverage
www.LIVEPDC.TV - Worldwide
www.Bet365.com
www.betfair.com
www.coral.co.uk
www.ladbrokes.com
www.unibet.co.uk
Saturday July 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Justin Pipe (10) 6-4 Kevin McDine
Terry Jenkins (12) 6-1 John Henderson
Brendan Dolan (5) 6-2 Mark Walsh
Johnny Haines 6-3 Benito van de Pas (16)
Mark Webster 6-1 Steve Beaton (15)
Mervyn King (9) 6-3 Wes Newton
Robert Thornton (11) 6-5 Dimitri van den Bergh
Alan Norris 6-5 Ian White (8)
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Michael Smith (4) 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
James Wade (2) 6-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kim Huybrechts (13) 6-4 Jyhan Artut
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Vincent van der Voort (7) 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Dave Chisnall (14)
Simon Whitlock (6) 6-5 Joe Cullen
Devon Petersen 6-5 Peter Wright (3)
Sunday July 12
Afternoon Session (1pm – 5pm local time, 12pm – 4pm, BST)
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Johnny Haines
Alan Norris v Mervyn King (9)
Brendan Dolan (5) v Terry Jenkins (12)
Michael Smith (4) v Kim Huybrechts (13)
James Wade (2) v Mark Webster
Vincent van der Voort (7) v Justin Pipe (10)
Simon Whitlock (6) v Robert Thornton (11)
Devon Petersen v Jelle Klaasen