Raymond van Barneveld and Gerwyn Price will lock horns again at the Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix on Sunday, after the Dutch veteran enjoyed a dramatic first round triumph in Munich.
The year’s fourth £175,000 PDC European Tour event began at Zenith on Saturday with two dramatic sessions of first round action, headlined by Van Barneveld’s 11-leg thriller with Ian White.
The pair shared four ton-plus checkouts during the game, with a 161 from White bettered in quality by a 131 from Van Barneveld to send the tie into a decider in leg ten – with the Englishman waiting on 46 for the match.
The deciding leg saw both players miss their chance to claim victory as the drama rose to fever pitch in front of an enthralled German crowd, with White’s four missed match darts allowing Van Barneveld back on double two.
The Dutch legend now faces another former World Champion, Price, in a tasty second round contest – with Van Barneveld having won twice when they met in last year’s Grand Slam of Darts before the Welshman took victory in the World Darts Championship.
The opening day in Munich also saw reigning TV title holders Andrew Gilding, Ross Smith and Chris Dobey enjoy big wins.
Gilding, last month’s UK Open winner, enjoyed a 6-1 first round win over Poland’s Tytus Kanik as he progressed to a tie with Premier League star Jonny Clayton on Sunday.
European Champion Smith, meanwhile, was a 6-1 winner over Germany’s Florian Hempel as he moved through to a tie with Joe Cullen in round two, impressing with a 101 average.
2023 Masters champion Chris Dobey was also in superb form as he raced past Spain’s Tony Martinez, dropping just one leg and averaging over 101 to create a tie with Premier League rival Dimitri Van den Bergh in the last 32
Munich’s Liam Maendl-Lawrance delighted his home crowd with a memorable 6-5 win over Robert Owen, denying the Welshman a first European Tour victory for almost six years with a 129 checkout in the deciding leg.
Maendl-Lawrance had been in the crowd at the 2022 German Darts Grand Prix, but followed up last week’s European Tour debut by moving through to a clash with Danny Noppert after resisting Owen’s fightback from 5-3 down in a 40-minute epic.
Germany’s Dragutin Horvat finished six doubles from 11 attempts to defeat Scott Waites 6-4, and the Host Nation Qualifier now plays Dave Chisnall – who won the year’s first European Tour event in February.
German number one Gabriel Clemens completed a trio of home hopes who enjoyed first round wins on Saturday, holding off a fightback from Swedish debutant Oskar Lukasiak with a 6-4 win to move through to a meeting with second seed Damon Heta.
Jeffrey de Zwaan snatched a 6-5 win over Brendan Dolan with a superb 150 checkout for a 12-darter as the Dutchman set up a contest with top seed Luke Humphries.
Sheffield-based teacher Adam Warner enjoyed a dream European Tour debut, taking out 142 and 112 and landing two 12-darters in his 6-4 win over Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde.
The new PDC Tour Card Holder now faces World Champion Michael Smith in Sunday’s second round
Berry van Peer hit six doubles from eight attempts in his impressive 6-1 win over Jules van Dongen, which sets up a tie with World Youth Champion Josh Rock in the last 32.
Lee Evans’ 6-2 win over Alan Soutar moves him through to a tie with Peter Wright, while Keane Barry’s 6-3 defeat of Andy Boulton sets up a meeting with third seed Rob Cross.
Callan Rydz’s clinical 6-3 win over Matt Campbell ensures a second round meeting with Dirk van Duijvenbode, while Steve Beaton won a clash of veteran campaigners against Simon Whitlock in a deciding leg to progress to a tie with Jose de Sousa.
Jim Williams will take on Germany’s 12th seed Martin Schindler on Sunday following his 6-3 win over Dutch ace Vincent van der Voort.
Cameron Menzies held off Daryl Gurney’s fightback to claim a 6-4 win which moves him through to face Nathan Aspinall in the second round.
Sunday’s second round in the £175,000 tournament sees the 16 seeded players enter the action against the first round winners.
The tournament is being broadcast live on Viaplay, DAZN and PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ websites worldwide.
PDCTV subscription options include Event Pass and Day Pass packages, as well as Annual and Monthly Subscriptions.
—–Ends—–
Inages: Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe”
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