2019 German Darts Championship Day One

European Tour

NATHAN ASPINALL put in a scintillating display in the performance of the opening round of the 2019 German Darts Championship.

Portela Amongst Final Qualifiers In For ET2

European Tour

DIOGO PORTELA, Mike De Decker and Jyhan Artut were amongst the final qualifiers for the German Darts Championship.

2019 German Darts Championship Draw & Schedule

European Tour

THE German Darts Championship begins on Friday, with Dimitri van den Bergh set to face Steve Beaton in the first round.

Nine-Dart Van Gerwen Lifts First European Title of 2019

European Tour

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN hit a nine-dart finish on his way to winning the first European Tour title of 2019.

2019 European Darts Open Day Two

European Tour

KRZYSZTOF RATAJSKI produced the performance of the day to knock Michael Smith out of the European Darts Open.

2019 European Darts Open Day One

European Tour

RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD'S return to European Tour action ended in a 6-4 defeat to Steve Beaton in Leverkusen.

Artut Heads ET1 Host Nation Qualifiers

European Tour

JYHAN ARTUT headlined the four Host Nation Qualifiers for the European Darts Open.

2019 European Darts Open Draw & Schedule

European Tour

THE European Darts Open begins on Friday, with Raymond van Barneveld set to face Steve Beaton in the first round.

2019 European Tour 3-4 Qualifiers

European Tour

STEVE BEATON, Stephen Bunting and Kyle Anderson were among eight players to secure a European Tour qualification double.

Eight Players Land European Tour Places

European Tour

EIGHT players claimed spots in European Tour events at the three East Europe and four Nordic and Baltic Qualifiers.

Joe Cullen claimed his third European Tour title and a fourth tournament win of 2022 with a superb 8-2 defeat of William O'Connor in Sunday's Hungarian Darts Trophy final.

The PDC European Tour's second visit to Budapest saw the BOK Sportcsarnok enjoy some sensational darts across three days of action.

2022 Masters champion and Premier League runner-up Cullen scooped the £25,000 top prize, claiming European Tour glory for a third time with his first win since the 2020 International Darts Open.

Cullen had battled past Martin Lukeman in Saturday's second round, and saw off Jim Williams in Sunday afternoon's third round to continue his challenge.

He then overcame Rusty-Jake Rodriguez 6-4 in the quarter-finals and survived three missed match darts from Dave Chisnall during their semi-final, before producing a 12-darter to complete a 7-6 victory.

Cullen's most dominant display came in the final, as he claimed the opening five legs without reply, twice punishing missed doubles from O'Connor whilst also posting a 13-dart leg, two 14-darters and a 100 finish.

O'Connor hit back with double ten and then produced a 124 finish to break with a sparkling 12-darter, but five further missed doubles in the next leg allowed Cullen in to move 6-2 up.

The World Series star then edged towards victory with an 11-darter as he took out 96, and four further misses from the former World Cup finalist allowed him to claim the title on double eight.

"I didn't expect to come to Budapest and win, but I'm over the moon," said Cullen.

"In my first three games I was terrible and a bit lucky to get through all three of them. Then I turned it on a little bit in the semis and I think I was pretty decent in the final.

"I kept Willie at bay, because I'd seen how well he played over the weekend and that's what I had to do."

O'Connor came from 5-3 down to edge out Michael Smith in Sunday afternoon's third round, before defeating Jose de Sousa and Nathan Aspinall to reach his first European Tour final since 2018.

"The fantastic crowd in Budapest is one of the best crowds I've ever seen," said O'Connor. "If you told me before the weekend that I'd get to a final, I'd be absolutely ecstatic.

"Although it's a disaster to lose in any final - it's not nice - I don't mind losing to Joe. He's one of the best guys in the game and I wish him the very best in the future."

Aspinall had won through to his third European Tour semi-final of 2022 following a dramatic ending to his last eight clash with Ryan Meikle, who missed the bullseye for a 170 checkout in the deciding leg.

Chisnall's run saw him reach a fifth ranking semi-final of the year with his best European Tour display, as he defeated Boris Krcmar with the aid of a 170 checkout before whitewashing Josh Rock with a 102 average.

Meikle's 6-5 win over Simon Whitlock ensured his first quarter-final appearance of the year from his best run on the European Tour, as he agonisingly missed out on a last four place.

Youngster Rodriguez was also appearing in his first European Tour quarter-final, after seeing off Madars Razma in the third round.

Northern Irish youngster Rock averaged 100 in his third round win over Dirk van Duijvenbode, taking out 126 on the bull in the deciding leg to reach a second European Tour quarter-final in his debut year on the circuit.

With World Champion Peter Wright and World Matchplay winner Michael van Gerwen amongst ten seeds to be eliminated in Saturday's second round, the tournament also recorded the unusual statistic of seeing no seeded players face each other during the event.

The PDC European Tour continues from September 9-11 with the Interwetten German Darts Open in Jena, as 48 players compete in the 11th of 13 events being held this year.

The tournament will broadcast live on PDCTV, exclusively on DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through bookmakers' websites worldwide.

Drawboard