WONDERFUL WRIGHT STARS ON DAY ONE IN MUNICH
Peter Wright will play Gerwyn Price in a blockbuster second round showdown at the NEO.bet German Darts Grand Prix on Sunday, after producing the performance of the opening day in Munich.
Wright was among the headline acts on Day One at the Zenith Kulturhalle, and he produced an eye-catching display to defeat former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa, as the year’s second PDC European Tour event began with a bang.
The pair were locked at 3-3 at one stage, but after De Sousa spurned two darts to break in leg seven, Wright stole a march and powered to a 6-3 victory with a 103.94 average.
“I know I had to perform well because Jose has been playing really good darts,” reflected the two-time World Champion.
“It’s been difficult because I’ve not been performing well in the Premier League, but I’ve been doing well in other tournaments.
“I’m looking forward to the game against Gezzy now. It will be great for the crowd, and hopefully we both turn up and produce a fantastic game.”
Saturday’s opening day saw 16 first round matches take place in Munich, as UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh edged out Germany’s number one Gabriel Clemens in a gripping encounter.
Despite posting a ton-plus average, the Belgian was forced to survive multiple match darts in an extraordinary decider, but he can now look ahead to a fascinating tie against top seed Dave Chisnall on Sunday.
Clemens’ World Cup partner Martin Schindler was the solitary German representative to triumph on Day One, sweeping aside Czech qualifier Vitezslav Sedlak 6-1 to preserve home hopes.
Michael Unterbuchner was convincingly beaten by World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall on his big stage return, with a profligate Lukas Wenig succumbing to Steve Lennon in the evening’s opener.
Host Nation Qualifiers Franz Roetzsch, Matthias Ehlers and Oliver Mueller also crashed out earlier in the day, losing out to Dutch trio Jermaine Wattimena, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Richard Veenstra respectively.
Gian van Veen celebrated his first win on the European Tour in 2024, courtesy of a deciding-leg success against five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld.
Van Veen landed a 13-dart hold to topple his compatriot in a last-leg shoot-out, and he will now face another Dutchman in round two, in the shape of tenth seed Danny Noppert.
Former Masters champions Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen were two of the stand-out performers on Saturday, easing through to round two with 6-2 wins against Viktor Tingstrom and Andrew Gilding respectively.
Dobey averaged 103 and converted a stunning 170 checkout to sink Swedish star Tingstrom, while Cullen averaged 99 and landed a brace of ton-plus finishes to demolish 2023 UK Open champion Gilding.
Brendan Dolan reeled off four consecutive legs to dispatch Alan Soutar by the same 6-2 scoreline, which sets up a second round tie against former European Champion Ross Smith.
Dolan’s fellow countryman Daryl Gurney also impressed in his opener, averaging 97 and registering four 180s to complete a comfortable 6-3 victory against a below-par James Wade.
Cameron Menzies fired in a stunning ten-darter to win through a high-quality contest against Mike De Decker, in a match which also saw the Belgian miss double 12 for a perfect nine-dart leg.
Menzies’ reward is a showdown against reigning champion Michael Smith, while Luke Woodhouse capitalised on his late call-up to deny Niels Zonneveld and progress to a meeting with Luke Humphries.
Elsewhere, Ryan Joyce will take on Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko in Sunday’s second round, having kicked off Saturday’s double session with a clinical 6-4 victory at the expense of Kevin Doets.
The 2024 German Darts Grand Prix continues on Sunday, as the second round takes place across two sessions in Munich.
Reigning champion Smith will be among the high-profile names in action, as world number one Humphries and three-time winner Michael van Gerwen also enter the fray.
The tournament is being broadcast live on Viaplay, DAZN and PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ websites worldwide.
2024 NEO.bet German Darts Grand Prix
Saturday March 30
First Round
Afternoon Session
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Kevin Doets
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Alan Soutar
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Franz Roetzsch
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Mike De Decker
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-5 Matthias Ehlers
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Oliver Mueller
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Chris Dobey 6-2 Viktor Tingstrom
Evening Session
Steve Lennon 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Daryl Gurney 6-3 James Wade
Joe Cullen 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Martin Schindler 6-1 Vitezslav Sedlak
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Michael Unterbuchner
Gian van Veen 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright 6-3 Jose de Sousa
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Sunday March 31
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Ross Smith v Brendan Dolan
Josh Rock v Richard Veenstra
Krzysztof Ratajski v Chris Dobey
Ricardo Pietreczko v Ryan Joyce
Stephen Bunting v Jermaine Wattimena
Ryan Searle v Steve Lennon
Rob Cross v Daryl Gurney
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Nathan Aspinall
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Michael Smith v Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert v Gian van Veen
Gerwyn Price v Peter Wright
Luke Humphries v Luke Woodhouse
Damon Heta v Martin Schindler
Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Dave Chisnall v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jonny Clayton v Joe Cullen
—–ENDS—–
Images: Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe
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