World Champions and PDC Representatives Safely Through in Copenhagen:
It was plain sailing for the world’s best on day one of the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen with the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, and Gerwyn Price all through to Saturday’s action after coming through their first-round matches.
Reigning world champion Wright was the standout performer on Friday evening averaging 103.66 in dismantling Matthias Orn Fridriksson 6-0.
Snakebite missed just five darts at double and included his highest checkout of 100 in the fourth leg to break his Icelandic opponent’s throw. The Scotsman who is set to represent his country in the upcoming World Cup sealed his spot in the next round on double eight with his second dart, where he will face Gary Anderson after he came from 5-3 down to beat Swedish international Daniel Larsson 6-5.
Michael van Gerwen wasted no time in reaching the second round, beating Marko Kantele of Finland 6-1 including a fantastic 157 checkout on tops to win the fifth leg and break throw. The Dutchman like the World Number 1 missed five darts at double, checking out at 54.55%.
Mighty Mike treated the crowd to a maximum and brought the session to a close in the seventh leg, hitting double eight with his first dart after Kantele missed two darts at double four to save the match. MVG will face James Wade again just like last week in New York after the Machine beat Madars Razma 6-3 despite not hitting a maximum on the Danish stage.
Gerwyn Price will also feature on Saturday after he came through a 6-2 winner against Brian Lokken including a 100 checkout in the fourth leg, starting a period where the Iceman reeled five straight legs off after going 2-1 down to his 47-year-old opponent.
The Markham ace will want success on the World Series stage having missed out on a spot in the Premier League top 4, losing last week in the Semi Finals to Michael van Gerwen in New York after coming through an epic Quarter Final tie with Jonny Clayton. His opponent in the Quarter Finals on Saturday will be Dimitri van den Bergh after he whitewashed young Danish player Benjamin Drue Reus in the opening match of the night.
Last weeks US Darts Masters champion Michael Smith is through to the Second Round in Copenhagen, swiping aside Vladimir Anderson 6-2 for the player who is ranked number one for the tournament, recording four maximums on the oche.
The Englishman closed out victory with a ton plus checkout in a bizarre way hitting double four before a treble nineteen and a double eighteen to finish 101 for Bully Boy.
It was a miserable night for the Nordic qualifiers with no player finding a victory with Darius Labanauskas the final victim of Day 1, losing 6-1 to Fallon Sherrock who averaged 80.13 finding an 85 checkout with her last dart at double ten to make up for her defeat to Leonard Gates last week in the US.
The Queen of the Palace found a showstopping 142 checkout on double eleven in the penultimate leg of the match, the highest of any player in the tie once again highlighting the reason why she was the first female to win a match on the World Championship stage, as she goes through to face Smith in the Quarter Finals on Saturday.
The action continues on PDC TV tomorrow with the likes of Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright hunting success on the World Series for the first time in 2022.
Nordic Darts Masters 2022:
Round 1 Results
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-0 Benjamin Drue Reus
Gary Anderson 6-5 Daniel Larsson
James Wade 6-3 Madars Razma
Fallon Sherrock 6-1 Darius Labanauskas
Gerwyn Price (4) 6-2 Brian Lokken
Michael Smith (1) 6-2 Vladimir Anderson
Peter Wright (3) 6-0 Matthias Orn Fridriksson
Michael van Gerwen (2) 6-1 Marko Kantele
Nordic Darts Masters 2022: Quarter Finals
Order of Play
Gerwyn Price (4) v Dimitri van den Bergh
Michael Smith (1) v Fallon Sherrock
Michael van Gerwen (2) v James Wade
Peter Wright (3) v Gary Anderson
—–ENDS—-
By Harry Masterson
Images: Schlosser/PDC
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