WORLD number one Michael van Gerwen began with a bang at the European Darts Trophy in Muelheim as he averaged 107.69 in a storming 6-1 victory over Adam Hunt at the RWE Sporthalle.
Aiming to secure his fifth European Tour victory of the year, van Gerwen was back to his best in Muelheim after a disappointing run of form at August’s World Series of Darts events.
Van Gerwen kicked off in style with consecutive ton-plus checkouts, 120 and 128, to move 2-0 in front before taking four of the next five legs to romp to an electrifying victory in double-quick time as he booked his place in round three against Jason Lovett in just ten minutes.
Auckland Darts Masters Champion Adrian Lewis, playing in his first European Tour event for over five months, also kicked off with a win as he produced a solid display to defeat James Wilson 6-3. The pair shared six 180s and two 11-darters as Jackpot took four of the final five legs to move into round three.
Fourth seed Peter Wright is also through after he secured a scrappy 6-4 victory over Andy Jenkins.
Trailing 2-0, Wright found some form to level before showing his quality to move 5-2 in front with three consecutive ton-plus checkouts, 116, 107 and 110.
Although Jenkins would hit back again to take the next two legs and pull himself just one behind, Wright regained his composure to seal the victory in the following leg and set up a tasty clash with fellow Premier League star Kim Huybrechts on Sunday.
Huybrechts had stunned the home crowd earlier in the afternoon as he produced a spectacular display to whitewash German teenager Max Hopp with a 107.36 average, in the 1500th match in European Tour history.
The 19-year-old did not have one dart at a double in the match as he was blitzed by the Belgian who finished with back-to-back 12-darters, including a brilliant 161 checkout in the penultimate leg.
James Wade would also enjoy a comfortable path into the next round as he saw off Darren Johnson 6-1, opening up with a 120 checkout before racing to victory with Johnson managing just one leg in reply.
European Darts Open winner Robert Thornton kicked off his weekend in Muelheim with a narrow 6-4 win against former Lakeside Champion Christian Kist.
After losing the opening two legs, Thornton hit back to level the match at 3-3 with a brilliant 11-darter before taking the final three legs on the spin to secure the hard-fought victory.
International Darts Open winner Michael Smith also started with a win as he began his pursuit of a second European Tour title of the year with a 6-3 win over Wes Newton.
Terry Jenkins was in fine form as he recorded the highest average of the day, 108.58, producing a stunning comeback to beat the impressive Steve West 6-5.
At 4-1 down, Jenkins turned on the style to level with consecutive 12-dart legs before West hit back again to force a decider with an 11-darter of his own having kicked off with two 180s. It was Jenkins who held his nerve though as he landed tops to book his spot in the next round.
Rowby-John Rodriguez was another man in great form on day two as the Austrian youngster blitzed Simon Whitlock, landing four 180s and a 118 checkout whilst also missing the bull for a 170, in a fine display which saw him comfortably beat the Wizard 6-1.
Dave Chisnall celebrated his 35th birthday with victory as he defeated Jan Dekker 6-2 to set up a third round match-up with Justin Pipe on Sunday.
Cristo Reyes kicked off day two in Muelheim with an impressive 6-4 success over Brendan Dolan, knocking out the seventh seed to reach the Last 16 of a European Tour event for the first time in his career.
Kevin Painter, Mervyn King and Jason Lovett would all also win by the same scoreline as the trio secured hard-earned victories over Vincent van der Voort, Daryl Gurney and Benito van de Pas respectively.
Ian White began the evening session with an impressive 6-3 victory over Stephen Bunting at the RWE Sporthalle.
With the match evenly poised at 3-3, White found another gear and took the last three legs of the match, including successive 12-darters to get himself over the line.
Justin Pipe completes Sunday’s line-up, but would be made to work hard for his place in the Last 16 as he edged out Mensur Suljovic 6-5, landing a stunning 135 checkout and capitalising on three missed match darts from the Austrian in the decider to take the win.
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European Darts Trophy - European Tour Event Seven
Second Round
Saturday September 12
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Brendan Dolan (7)
Robert Thornton (14) 6-4 Christian Kist
Justin Pipe (9) 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Terry Jenkins (13) 6-5 Steve West
Jason Lovett 6-4 Benito van de Pas (16)
Mervyn King (10) 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Kim Huybrechts (12) 6-0 Max Hopp
Kevin Painter 6-4 Vincent van der Voort (15)
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Ian White (6) 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Dave Chisnall (8) 6-2 Jan Dekker
Adrian Lewis (4) 6-3 James Wilson
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Adam Hunt
Peter Wright (5) 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Michael Smith (2) 6-3 Wes Newton
James Wade (3) 6-1 Darren Johnson
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-1 Simon Whitlock (11)
Sunday September 13
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Jason Lovett
Dave Chisnall (8) v Justin Pipe (9)
Peter Wright (5) v Kim Huybrechts (12)
Adrian Lewis (4) v Terry Jenkins (13)
Michael Smith (2) v Kevin Painter
Cristo Reyes v Mervyn King (10)
Ian White (6) v Rowby-John Rodriguez
James Wade (3) v Robert Thornton (14)
Aiming to secure his fifth European Tour victory of the year, van Gerwen was back to his best in Muelheim after a disappointing run of form at August’s World Series of Darts events.
Van Gerwen kicked off in style with consecutive ton-plus checkouts, 120 and 128, to move 2-0 in front before taking four of the next five legs to romp to an electrifying victory in double-quick time as he booked his place in round three against Jason Lovett in just ten minutes.
Auckland Darts Masters Champion Adrian Lewis, playing in his first European Tour event for over five months, also kicked off with a win as he produced a solid display to defeat James Wilson 6-3. The pair shared six 180s and two 11-darters as Jackpot took four of the final five legs to move into round three.
Fourth seed Peter Wright is also through after he secured a scrappy 6-4 victory over Andy Jenkins.
Trailing 2-0, Wright found some form to level before showing his quality to move 5-2 in front with three consecutive ton-plus checkouts, 116, 107 and 110.
Although Jenkins would hit back again to take the next two legs and pull himself just one behind, Wright regained his composure to seal the victory in the following leg and set up a tasty clash with fellow Premier League star Kim Huybrechts on Sunday.
Huybrechts had stunned the home crowd earlier in the afternoon as he produced a spectacular display to whitewash German teenager Max Hopp with a 107.36 average, in the 1500th match in European Tour history.
The 19-year-old did not have one dart at a double in the match as he was blitzed by the Belgian who finished with back-to-back 12-darters, including a brilliant 161 checkout in the penultimate leg.
James Wade would also enjoy a comfortable path into the next round as he saw off Darren Johnson 6-1, opening up with a 120 checkout before racing to victory with Johnson managing just one leg in reply.
European Darts Open winner Robert Thornton kicked off his weekend in Muelheim with a narrow 6-4 win against former Lakeside Champion Christian Kist.
After losing the opening two legs, Thornton hit back to level the match at 3-3 with a brilliant 11-darter before taking the final three legs on the spin to secure the hard-fought victory.
International Darts Open winner Michael Smith also started with a win as he began his pursuit of a second European Tour title of the year with a 6-3 win over Wes Newton.
Terry Jenkins was in fine form as he recorded the highest average of the day, 108.58, producing a stunning comeback to beat the impressive Steve West 6-5.
At 4-1 down, Jenkins turned on the style to level with consecutive 12-dart legs before West hit back again to force a decider with an 11-darter of his own having kicked off with two 180s. It was Jenkins who held his nerve though as he landed tops to book his spot in the next round.
Rowby-John Rodriguez was another man in great form on day two as the Austrian youngster blitzed Simon Whitlock, landing four 180s and a 118 checkout whilst also missing the bull for a 170, in a fine display which saw him comfortably beat the Wizard 6-1.
Dave Chisnall celebrated his 35th birthday with victory as he defeated Jan Dekker 6-2 to set up a third round match-up with Justin Pipe on Sunday.
Cristo Reyes kicked off day two in Muelheim with an impressive 6-4 success over Brendan Dolan, knocking out the seventh seed to reach the Last 16 of a European Tour event for the first time in his career.
Kevin Painter, Mervyn King and Jason Lovett would all also win by the same scoreline as the trio secured hard-earned victories over Vincent van der Voort, Daryl Gurney and Benito van de Pas respectively.
Ian White began the evening session with an impressive 6-3 victory over Stephen Bunting at the RWE Sporthalle.
With the match evenly poised at 3-3, White found another gear and took the last three legs of the match, including successive 12-darters to get himself over the line.
Justin Pipe completes Sunday’s line-up, but would be made to work hard for his place in the Last 16 as he edged out Mensur Suljovic 6-5, landing a stunning 135 checkout and capitalising on three missed match darts from the Austrian in the decider to take the win.
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www.Bet365.com
www.betfair.com
www.coral.co.uk
www.ladbrokes.com
www.unibet.co.uk
Live Scores
Follow live scores throughout the European Darts Trophy at the PDC Live Scores Website, http://live.dartsdata.com .
European Darts Trophy - European Tour Event Seven
Second Round
Saturday September 12
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Brendan Dolan (7)
Robert Thornton (14) 6-4 Christian Kist
Justin Pipe (9) 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Terry Jenkins (13) 6-5 Steve West
Jason Lovett 6-4 Benito van de Pas (16)
Mervyn King (10) 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Kim Huybrechts (12) 6-0 Max Hopp
Kevin Painter 6-4 Vincent van der Voort (15)
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Ian White (6) 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Dave Chisnall (8) 6-2 Jan Dekker
Adrian Lewis (4) 6-3 James Wilson
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Adam Hunt
Peter Wright (5) 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Michael Smith (2) 6-3 Wes Newton
James Wade (3) 6-1 Darren Johnson
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-1 Simon Whitlock (11)
Sunday September 13
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Jason Lovett
Dave Chisnall (8) v Justin Pipe (9)
Peter Wright (5) v Kim Huybrechts (12)
Adrian Lewis (4) v Terry Jenkins (13)
Michael Smith (2) v Kevin Painter
Cristo Reyes v Mervyn King (10)
Ian White (6) v Rowby-John Rodriguez
James Wade (3) v Robert Thornton (14)