HOME favourite Jyhan Artut delighted the German crowd in Dusseldorf as he shocked Stephen Bunting on the opening day of the European Darts Open.
World Cup star Artut impressed throughout the clash with Bunting and raced into a 4-1 lead before taking out 114 to move 5-3 in front after a mini-revival from The Bullet. Artut would go on to complete the victory in the following leg as he landed double 14 for a 13-darter.
There would be less joy for Artut’s four fellow Home Nation Qualifiers though as they were all defeated in the first round at the Maritim Hotel.
Christian Soethe – who was appearing in his first European Tour event – lost out 6-4 to Johnny Haines, whilst fellow German Tomas Seyler was comfortably beaten 6-2 by Mark Walsh and Jamie Lewis narrowly saw off Michael Rosenauer 6-5 in the final game of the day.
Maik Lagendorf would also miss out on round two as Joe Cullen ran out a 6-3 victor over the Austrian – taking out 144 in the process – to set up a second round clash with Simon Whitlock on Saturday.
There would be more joy for Lagendorf’s fellow countryman though as Austria’s World Cup of Darts pairing of Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic both enjoyed wins on the opening day.
21-year-old Rodriguez had the crowd dreaming of a nine-darter as he landed six perfect darts during a thumping 6-1 victory over Barrie Bates, whilst Suljovic was made to work much harder for his place in round two as he came back from 5-3 down to beat Belgium’s Mike De Decker 6-5.
Wes Newton sealed the result of the first round as he averaged 95.94 in a thumping 6-0 whitewash win over Gerwyn Price in the final game of the afternoon.
Things would be a lot tighter for Kevin McDine in the opening game of the day though as he edged past Daryl Gurney 6-5 in an evenly-contested encounter in Dusseldorf.
There would also be deciding leg victories for John Henderson and Devon Petersen in the evening session as the pair were taken all the way by Andrew Gilding and Nathan Aspinall.
German Darts Masters finalist Henderson capitalised on three missed match darts from Gilding in the deciding leg to book his place in round two, whilst South African Petersen came back from 5-3 behind to set up a second round clash with Peter Wright.
Fresh from securing his second PDC title at last weekend’s Players Championship in Wigan, Jelle Klaasen continued his fine form as he beat Eddie Dootson 6-3 at the Maritim Hotel, averaging 100.7 and completing the win with a superb 10-dart leg.
Klaasen’s fellow countryman and Lakeside Champion, Christian Kist would enjoy less success though as he was beaten by youngster Dimitri van den Bergh who produced a brilliant display, averaging 100 and with 75% double success during a 6-3 win.
Another former Lakeside Champion, Mark Webster, would be celebrating though as he enjoyed a 6-2 success against Stuart Kellett, whilst Alan Norris also impressed as he landed five maximums during a comprehensive 6-2 win over Andy Smith.
Dirk van Duijvenbode completes the second round line-up and will face the tough test of second seed James Wade in round two after he defeated fellow Dutch qualifier Leo Hendriks, landing four maximums in an impressive 6-3 victory.
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Session Schedule
Friday July 10
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Kevin McDine 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Mark Webster 6-2 Stuart Kellett
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Eddie Dootson
Johnny Haines 6-4 Christian Soethe
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-1 Barrie Bates
Mark Walsh 6-2 Tomas Seyler
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-3 Christian Kist
Wes Newton 6-0 Gerwyn Price
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Alan Norris 6-2 Andy Smith
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Mike De Decker
Joe Cullen 6-3 Maik Lagendorf
John Henderson 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Devon Petersen 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Jyhan Artut 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Leo Hendriks
Jamie Lewis 6-5 Michael Rosenauer
Saturday July 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Justin Pipe (10) v Kevin McDine
Terry Jenkins (12) v John Henderson
Brendan Dolan (5) v Mark Walsh
Benito van de Pas (16) v Johnny Haines
Steve Beaton (15) v Mark Webster
Mervyn King (9) v Wes Newton
Robert Thornton (11) v Dimitri van den Bergh
Ian White (8) v Alan Norris
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Michael Smith (4) v Mensur Suljovic
James Wade (2) v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kim Huybrechts (13) v Jyhan Artut
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Jamie Lewis
Vincent van der Voort (7) v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Dave Chisnall (14) v Jelle Klaasen
Simon Whitlock (6) v Joe Cullen
Peter Wright (3) v Devon Petersen