JAMES RICHARDSON caused the shock of the German Darts Masters third round as he took advantage of some wasteful finishing from Adrian Lewis to book his place in the last eight in Munich.
Lewis managed only three successful attempts out of 21 at a double in the match as Richardson lived up to his 'Ruthless' nickname by punishing his opponent's mistakes.
Having been a fraction away from a 170 finish in the fifth leg, Richardson had more joy with a 130 checkout to open up a 4-2 lead, and although Lewis clawed one leg back with an 85 finish in the eighth, the Northamptonshire ace held his nerve to nail double one for a 6-3 success as he reached his first European Tour quarter-final since 2012.
World number one Michael van Gerwen continued his pursuit to retain his title with a convincing display as he defeated Kevin Painter 6-2.
The Dutch star was much improved from his opening match display against Rene Eidams and although Painter proved stubborn opposition, van Gerwen's superior scoring power proved decisive with a 102.85 final average.
The first two legs went against the throw but van Gerwen notched four in a row including a 115 finish, and although Painter stopped the rot with a 106 checkout in the seventh leg, the reigning champion only needed one more leg to get the job done.
World Champion Gary Anderson made short work of William O'Connor to move in to the quarter-finals.
The Scottish star posted an average of 101.66 as he overcame an early break from the Irishman, whose 117 checkout in the opening leg proved to be his highlight.
Once Anderson had broken his rival in leg five with an 86 finish and then held his throw in 14 darts for a 4-2 lead he didn't look back and rattled off the remaining two legs in quick time to reach the last eight.
Another seeded player crashed out of the competition, though, as emerging star Chris Dobey continued his fairytale run, dispatching eighth seed Dave Chisnall with a scintillating display.
The 25-year-old, ranked a lowly 77th in the world, notched seven 180s on his march into the quarter-finals, recording an average of 102.25.
Chisnall, by contrast, struggled to get his own average above 90 and despite a 164 finish in the fifth leg to take the lead, he couldn't live with his unheralded opponent who started leg eight with two maximums as he grew in confidence in front of the sell-out crowd, finally hitting tops to put the Premier League ace out of his misery.
Peter Wright survived a scare of his own as he edged past Cristo Reyes in a final-leg decider as the afternoon session kicked off with a nail-biting contest.
The Spaniard opened up leads of 2-0 and 4-2 but was pegged back on both occasions as Wright dug deep despite not being at his best.
A 124 finish in the tenth leg from the third seed forced a decider and after Reyes wired double 16 for the match, Wright sneaked over the line with his last dart at double ten.
The only third match between two seeded players lived up to its billing with Ian White and Jelle Klaasen trading ten 180s in their 11 legs as White edged through.
Both players had chances for a nine-darter, White in leg four and Klaasen in the seventh, but after six perfect darts were unable to kick off their third visits with the required treble, while the Dutchman's showman strategy of trying to win a leg with repeat doubles let him down twice before the Stoke ace nudged his average over 100 at the death as he finished off 56 in the decider.
Number two seed Michael Smith sent out a message to the rest of the field with a clinical display as he ended James Wilson's hopes in Munich.
Smith averaged 104.56 and recorded six successful attempts from just seven attempts at a double as he made it through to the last eight, where he will play White.
Wilson played his part in the encounter too as only one leg in the entire match went longer than 15 darts, but the St Helens star prevailed -and although he was pegged back from 3-1 up to 3-3, successive 13 dart legs on his throw took him to the hill where a 123 check out saw him over the line.
Joe Cullen's fine weekend continued as he edged past Benito van de Pas in another final leg shootout at the Ballhausforum.
The pair exchanged breaks of throw in the opening two legs but thereafter every leg went with throw, including the tenth, when Cullen nailed seven treble 20s before falling short on double 19 with his eighth dart in his bid for a perfect leg.
Cullen looked like he had blown his chance to get over the line in the last though as he missed five match darts, but the Dutchman spurned four of his own and it was the Bradford youngster who eventually prevailed.
German Darts Masters
European Tour Event Two
Ballhausforum, Dolce Hotel, Munich
Monday March 28
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Peter Wright 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Adrian Lewis 3-6 James Richardson
Ian White 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Michael Smith 6-4 James Wilson
Joe Cullen 6-5 Benito van de Pas
William O'Connor 2-6 Gary Anderson
Dave Chisnall 4-6 Chris Dobey
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Kevin Painter
Evening Session
Quarter-Finals
Peter Wright v James Richardson
Ian White v Michael Smith
Joe Cullen v Gary Anderson
Chris Dobey v Michael van Gerwen
Followed by...
Semi-Finals
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs. Monday's games are played in draw bracket order, as listed above.
Match Stats
Lewis managed only three successful attempts out of 21 at a double in the match as Richardson lived up to his 'Ruthless' nickname by punishing his opponent's mistakes.
Having been a fraction away from a 170 finish in the fifth leg, Richardson had more joy with a 130 checkout to open up a 4-2 lead, and although Lewis clawed one leg back with an 85 finish in the eighth, the Northamptonshire ace held his nerve to nail double one for a 6-3 success as he reached his first European Tour quarter-final since 2012.
World number one Michael van Gerwen continued his pursuit to retain his title with a convincing display as he defeated Kevin Painter 6-2.
The Dutch star was much improved from his opening match display against Rene Eidams and although Painter proved stubborn opposition, van Gerwen's superior scoring power proved decisive with a 102.85 final average.
The first two legs went against the throw but van Gerwen notched four in a row including a 115 finish, and although Painter stopped the rot with a 106 checkout in the seventh leg, the reigning champion only needed one more leg to get the job done.
World Champion Gary Anderson made short work of William O'Connor to move in to the quarter-finals.
The Scottish star posted an average of 101.66 as he overcame an early break from the Irishman, whose 117 checkout in the opening leg proved to be his highlight.
Once Anderson had broken his rival in leg five with an 86 finish and then held his throw in 14 darts for a 4-2 lead he didn't look back and rattled off the remaining two legs in quick time to reach the last eight.
Another seeded player crashed out of the competition, though, as emerging star Chris Dobey continued his fairytale run, dispatching eighth seed Dave Chisnall with a scintillating display.
The 25-year-old, ranked a lowly 77th in the world, notched seven 180s on his march into the quarter-finals, recording an average of 102.25.
Chisnall, by contrast, struggled to get his own average above 90 and despite a 164 finish in the fifth leg to take the lead, he couldn't live with his unheralded opponent who started leg eight with two maximums as he grew in confidence in front of the sell-out crowd, finally hitting tops to put the Premier League ace out of his misery.
Peter Wright survived a scare of his own as he edged past Cristo Reyes in a final-leg decider as the afternoon session kicked off with a nail-biting contest.
The Spaniard opened up leads of 2-0 and 4-2 but was pegged back on both occasions as Wright dug deep despite not being at his best.
A 124 finish in the tenth leg from the third seed forced a decider and after Reyes wired double 16 for the match, Wright sneaked over the line with his last dart at double ten.
The only third match between two seeded players lived up to its billing with Ian White and Jelle Klaasen trading ten 180s in their 11 legs as White edged through.
Both players had chances for a nine-darter, White in leg four and Klaasen in the seventh, but after six perfect darts were unable to kick off their third visits with the required treble, while the Dutchman's showman strategy of trying to win a leg with repeat doubles let him down twice before the Stoke ace nudged his average over 100 at the death as he finished off 56 in the decider.
Number two seed Michael Smith sent out a message to the rest of the field with a clinical display as he ended James Wilson's hopes in Munich.
Smith averaged 104.56 and recorded six successful attempts from just seven attempts at a double as he made it through to the last eight, where he will play White.
Wilson played his part in the encounter too as only one leg in the entire match went longer than 15 darts, but the St Helens star prevailed -and although he was pegged back from 3-1 up to 3-3, successive 13 dart legs on his throw took him to the hill where a 123 check out saw him over the line.
Joe Cullen's fine weekend continued as he edged past Benito van de Pas in another final leg shootout at the Ballhausforum.
The pair exchanged breaks of throw in the opening two legs but thereafter every leg went with throw, including the tenth, when Cullen nailed seven treble 20s before falling short on double 19 with his eighth dart in his bid for a perfect leg.
Cullen looked like he had blown his chance to get over the line in the last though as he missed five match darts, but the Dutchman spurned four of his own and it was the Bradford youngster who eventually prevailed.
German Darts Masters
European Tour Event Two
Ballhausforum, Dolce Hotel, Munich
Monday March 28
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Peter Wright 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Adrian Lewis 3-6 James Richardson
Ian White 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Michael Smith 6-4 James Wilson
Joe Cullen 6-5 Benito van de Pas
William O'Connor 2-6 Gary Anderson
Dave Chisnall 4-6 Chris Dobey
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Kevin Painter
Evening Session
Quarter-Finals
Peter Wright v James Richardson
Ian White v Michael Smith
Joe Cullen v Gary Anderson
Chris Dobey v Michael van Gerwen
Followed by...
Semi-Finals
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs. Monday's games are played in draw bracket order, as listed above.
Match Stats
| Average | 180s | High Finish | Average | 180s | High Finish | |||
| 96.54 | 3 | 124 | Peter Wright | v | Cristo Reyes | 93.31 | 3 | 89 |
| 94.05 | 5 | 85 | Adrian Lewis | v | James Richardson | 93.22 | 4 | 130 |
| 100.6 | 4 | 98 | Ian White | v | Jelle Klaasen | 98.31 | 6 | 86 |
| 104.56 | 2 | 123 | Michael Smith | v | James Wilson | 101.07 | 4 | 80 |
| 92.34 | 3 | 100 | Joe Cullen | v | Benito van de Pas | 95.44 | 3 | 41 |
| 93.03 | 3 | 117 | William O'Connor | v | Gary Anderson | 101.66 | 3 | 66 |
| 89.68 | 3 | 164 | Dave Chisnall | v | Chris Dobey | 102.25 | 7 | 100 |
| 102.85 | 3 | 115 | Michael van Gerwen | v | Kevin Painter | 95.63 | 4 | 106 |