MARK DUDBRIDGE qualified for a European Tour event in 2013 for the first time as he came through the UK Qualifier for the £100,000 German Darts Championship at the K2 Centre in Crawley on Friday night.
The 2005 World Championship finalist, who has struggled with injury over the last few years, defeated Scotland’s Keith Stephen before overcoming Welsh prospect Jamie Lewis by a 6-1 margin to confirm his place in Hildesheim.
Dudbridge was joined by fellow Bristol thrower Steve Brown, who defeated Steven Pearson and Mark Cox before beating Campbell Jackson 6-3 in their deciding encounter.
Grand Slam of Darts semi-finalist Dean Winstanley overcame the challenge of Andy Jenkins to qualify, as did Darren Johnson who defeated Nick Fullwell in the final round.
Terry Temple joined Yorkshire compatriots Winstanley and Johnson as he came through his two matches with 6-4 wins over Ross Smith and Martyn Turner respectively.
Michael Smith defeated John Bowles and Manchester prospect Shaun Griffiths to book his place in Germany as did Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney, who dropped just three legs in disposing of Richie Howson and William O’Connor.
Alan Tabern and Matt Clark sealed their places in the £100,000 European Tour event as both players came through their two matches to qualify with 6-2 victories over Mark Hylton and Joey Palfreyman.
Kevin Dowling, who lost to Phil Taylor on the opening night of the UK Open a fortnight ago, defeated Coventry rival Steve Hine before overcoming Watford’s Alex Roy with a 6-4 triumph in the decider to confirm his place in the main draw in Hildesheim.
James Richardson produced an impressive display as he defeated Scott Rand and Reece Robinson for the loss of just three legs while Matthew Edgar came through a tough draw to qualify as he beat Joe Cullen in his opening match, before edging out Steve West in a last leg thriller.
Shropshire’s David Pallett won three matches to book his place culminating in a 6-4 triumph against Chris Aubrey and Kettering’s Ricky Evans continued his impressive year as he defeated Mark Jones and Chris Skeates to confirm his place in Germany.
Dennis Smith edged a tough 6-5 victory over Johnny Haines to qualify and the experienced Darren Webster also sealed his spot for September’s event thanks to good wins over Michael Mansell and Prakash Jiwa.
Scotland's John Henderson came through thanks to an excellent 6-4 win over Wayne Jones in the decider and he was joined by Nigel Heydon, Michael Barnard and John Scott, who completed the 20 qualifiers.
The sixth European Tour event of 2013 will be held from September 6-8 in Hildesheim, Germany, with the final places in the field being filled on September 5 when the European Qualifier and the Host Nation Qualifier will be held in Hildesheim.
German Darts Championship - European Tour Event Six
UK Qualifier
First Round
David Pallett 6-4 Ryan Harrington
Steve Brown 6-2 Steven Pearson
Ross Smith 6-3 Dave Honey
John Bowles 6-1 Steve Grubb
Jamie Robinson 6-0 Lee Moffat
Adrian Gray 6-3 Joe Murnan
John Henderson 6-1 Peter Hudson
Dan Russell 6-0 Neville Roberts
Joe Cullen 6-1 Jack Tweddell
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Michael Blake
Paul Barham 6-5 Paul Rowley
Second Round
Chris Aubrey 6-3 Andrew Gilding
David Pallett 6-3 Andy Parsons
Campbell Jackson 6-5 Jim Walker
Steve Brown 6-5 Mark Cox
Martyn Turner 6-3 James Hubbard
Terry Temple 6-4 Ross Smith
Reece Robinson 6-4 Paul Amos
James Richardson 6-2 Scott Rand
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Steve Maish
Darren Webster 6-4 Michael Mansell
Shaun Griffiths 6-2 Wayne Atwood
Michael Smith 6-2 John Bowles
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Kirk Shepherd
Dean Winstanley 6-0 Jamie Robinson
Lee Palfreyman 6-4 Tony West
John Scott 6-4 Adrian Gray
Alan Tabern 6-2 Lee White
Mark Hylton 6-5 Josh Payne
Matt Clark 6-2 Oliver Stell
Joey Palfreyman 6-3 Matthew Dicken
Wayne Jones 6-4 Ted Hankey
John Henderson 6-1 Kentaro Suzuki
Dennis Smith 6-3 Matthew Dennant
Johnny Haines 6-2 Dan Russell
Steve West 6-3 Brian Woods
Matthew Edgar 6-3 Joe Cullen
Kevin Dowling 6-3 Steve Hine
Alex Roy 6-5 Scott Coleman
Nick Fullwell 6-2 Stephen Hardy
Darren Johnson 6-2 Kevin McDine
William O'Connor 6-1 Sam Hill
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Richie Howson
Michael Barnard 6-3 Barrie Bates
Ricky Sudale 6-5 Paul Barham
Nigel Heydon 6-1 Gaz Cousins
Pete Dyos 6-5 Jake Patchett
Mark Dudbridge 6-3 Keith Stephen
Jamie Lewis 6-3 Connie Finnan
Chris Skeates 6-2 Peter Evison
Ricky Evans 6-3 Mark Jones
Third Round
David Pallett 6-4 Chris Aubrey
Steve Brown 6-3 Campbell Jackson
Terry Temple 6-4 Martyn Turner
James Richardson 6-1 Reece Robinson
Darren Webster 6-3 Prakash Jiwa
Michael Smith 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Andy Jenkins
John Scott 6-4 Lee Palfreyman
Alan Tabern 6-2 Mark Hylton
Matt Clark 6-2 Joey Palfreyman
John Henderson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Dennis Smith 6-5 Johnny Haines
Matthew Edgar 6-5 Steve West
Kevin Dowling 6-4 Alex Roy
Darren Johnson 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Daryl Gurney 6-2 William O'Connor
Michael Barnard 6-4 Ricky Sudale
Nigel Heydon 6-3 Pete Dyos
Mark Dudbridge 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Ricky Evans 6-2 Chris Skeates
Qualifiers
David Pallett
Steve Brown
Terry Temple
James Richardson
Darren Webster
Michael Smith
Dean Winstanley
John Scott
Alan Tabern
Matt Clark
John Henderson
Dennis Smith
Matthew Edgar
Kevin Dowling
Darren Johnson
Daryl Gurney
Michael Barnard
Nigel Heydon
Mark Dudbridge
Ricky Evans