MICHAEL van Gerwen was made to work hard for his place in the third round of the International Darts Open as he narrowly beat William O’Connor in Riesa.
The world number one – who is yet to be defeated in this year’s European Tour – maintained his 100 percent record with a 6-5 victory at the Sachsenarena on Saturday.
Irishman O’Connor looked comfortable throughout and started strongly, taking out 121 in the fourth leg before moving 5-4 in front as he closed in on a shock victory. Van Gerwen was not to be defeated though as he quickly levelled before wrapping up the win in style, taking out 100 for an 11-darter.
Second seed Peter Wright continued his fine form of late as he produced a brilliant display to whitewash Matt Clark with a 103.66 average.
A solitary shot at the bullseye was the only dart at a double that Clark had in the one-sided encounter as Wright breezed into the Last 16, landing four maximums and a 104 checkout on his way to victory.
Wright’s fellow Betway Premier League star Dave Chisnall was another man celebrating a 6-0 win as he saw off Matthew Edgar.
The thumping win included four maximums and a 113 checkout in the penultimate leg as Chisnall kicked off his weekend in perfect fashion.
Max Hopp delighted the home crowd as he secured a commanding 6-3 victory over Mervyn King.
The 18-year-old impressed as he moved into a 5-3 lead before almost sealing victory in spectacular fashion as he kicked off the final leg with seven perfect darts.
The nine-darter was not to come but it would not stop the youngster from sealing victory as he eventually landed double one to ensure there would be a German representative on the final day.
Former European Tour winner Vincent van der Voort was another seed to crash out of the tournament as he was defeated 6-4 by Rowby-John Rodriguez.
The Dutchman started the stronger and moved into a 3-1 lead, but he couldn’t continue his form as Rodriguez fought back and landed back-to-back ton-plus checkouts – including an exhibition 105 finish (25, D20, D20) – before taking out 36 to complete the impressive victory.
Third seed Michael Smith stumbled over the line against Jonny Clayton as he struggled to find his top form in a 6-4 success.
A slow start from Smith saw Clayton move into a 2-1 lead before the youngster came to life in the following leg as he expertly took out 148 to draw himself level. Both men would struggle to find any real consistency in the following legs before Smith capitalised on a host of missed doubles to eventually take the win and set up a third round clash with Steve Beaton.
Beaton was the first man to reach the third round as he kicked off day two with a comfortable 6-1 win against a below-par Mark Barilli.
Beaton took the final five legs of the match on the spin before landing a 180 and his highest checkout of the match, 81, in the final leg to wrap up the win.
Stephen Bunting moved into round three as he reeled off five legs on the spin to defeat Jamie Caven 6-3.
Caven kicked off with a fine 120 checkout in the opening leg en route to opening up a 3-1 lead before Bunting turned the game on its head and took all of the final five legs, including a 116 checkout in the penultimate leg, to move into the next round.
Benito van de Pas is also through after he produced a spectacular final flourish to beat Mensur Suljovic 6-5.
The Austrian looked to be closing in on the win as he moved 5-3 in front, only for van de Pas to take out finishes of 140 and 127 in the final two legs to complete a brilliant comeback victory.
Brendan Dolan avoided a big scare as he also won through in a deciding leg to beat Robert Marijanovic at the Sachsenarena.
Marijanovic always seemed on top of the encounter and led until the final leg, moving 4-2 ahead before Dolan pulled himself back into the match and landed a brilliant 121 checkout to force a decider, where he would take out 25 to book his place in the Last 16.
For the third time in a row a match would be decided in a final leg as Robert Thornton defeated home favourite Thomas Seyler.
After falling 2-0 behind, Seyler hit back by taking the next four legs and would later extend his advantage to 5-3. A showpiece 131 checkout (T17, D20, D20) pulled Thornton back into the match in style before he pounced on some uncharacteristically sloppy darts from the German to take the following two legs and seal a dramatic win.
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up Justin Pipe kicked off his weekend in Riesa with an entertaining 6-5 victory against James Wilson.
The pair would continue to exchange blows throughout before Pipe kicked on the final leg, landing back-to-back maximums before taking out 40 to move into round three.
Kim Huybrechts and Cristo Reyes played out a high-quality encounter as the Belgian won in yet another deciding leg to reach round three.
There was never more than one leg between the players in an incredibly tight contest, although Huybrechts did steal the limelight in the sixth leg as he expertly checked out 152. With the game into a decider, Huybrechts showed his class as he nailed back-to-back 180s before taking out 16 to complete a hard-earned victory.
Seventh seed Ian White finished the afternoon session with a narrow 6-4 victory over Mickey Mansell.
White landed checkouts of 108 and 112 in the opening stages before capitalising on a number of missed doubles from Mansell to take the final two legs and secure the win.
Terry Jenkins kicked off the evening session with a 6-4 over the impressive Jamie Lewis.
The nine-time PDC major finalist was pushed all the way by the Welshman who kept the match alive with a nerve-busting 108 checkout in the penultimate leg. Not to be outdone though, Jenkins went one better in the following leg as he wrapped up the win with a brilliant 116 finish.
Daryl Gurney completes the Last 16 line-up as he closed the show on day two with a 6-5 victory against Simon Whitlock.
There was nothing to separate the pair throughout as they both looked strong with the darts before Whitlock forced a decider with a brilliant 121 checkout. Gurney would hold his nerve though and took out 52 to seal the win and set up a tasty clash with Huybrechts on Sunday.
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2015 International Darts Open
Saturday June 20
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Steve Beaton (14) 6-1 Mark Barilli
Benito van de Pas (16) 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Brendan Dolan (4) 6-5 Robert Marijanovic
Robert Thornton (10) 6-5 Thomas Seyler
Justin Pipe (9) 6-5 James Wilson
Dave Chisnall (13) 6-0 Matthew Edgar
Kim Huybrechts (12) 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Ian White (7) 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Terry Jenkins (11) 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Michael Smith (3) 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-4 Vincent van der Voort (6)
Peter Wright (2) 6-0 Matt Clark
Max Hopp 6-3 Mervyn King (8)
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Jamie Caven (15)
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-5 William O'Connor
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Simon Whitlock (5)
(All games are the best of 11 legs)
2015 International Darts Open
Sunday June 21
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Michael Smith v Steve Beaton
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Terry Jenkins
Ian White v Robert Thornton
Peter Wright v Stephen Bunting
Brendan Dolan v Dave Chisnall
Daryl Gurney v Kim Huybrechts
Max Hopp v Justin Pipe
Michael van Gerwen v Benito van de Pas
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Smith / Beaton v Rodriguez / Jenkins
White / Thornton v Wright / Bunting
Dolan / Chisnall v Gurney / Huybrechts
Hopp / Pipe v van Gerwen / van de Pas
.