Peter Wright began his defence of the Gambrinus Czech Darts Open with a deciding-leg victory over Cameron Menzies on Friday, as Mike De Decker and James Wade also starred in Prague.
Day One of the year’s final European Tour event saw 16 first round matches take place at PVA EXPO, with the race for European Championship qualification dominating the narrative.
Wright – also the reigning European Champion – will be among the 32 players battling it out for glory in Dortmund next week, and he made a winning start on his return to the Czech capital.
The two-time World Champion fended off a late rally from Menzies to triumph in a topsy-turvy affair, establishing 2-0, 4-2 and 5-3 leads before sealing the deal with a 14-dart break in the decider.
“Cammy has beaten me the last two times we’ve played on the European Tour,” reflected Wright, after ending his compatriot’s hopes of a European Championship debut.
“He is a fantastic dart player and I knew it was going to be a tough game, but the crowd helped me here today. It was a pleasure to play in front of them.”
Friday’s first round also saw newly crowned BoyleSports World Grand Prix champion De Decker enjoy a successful return to big stage action, just five days on from his breakthrough win in Leicester.
The Belgian averaged 104 and pinned six of his eight double attempts during a 6-1 demolition of Brett Claydon, which sets up a clash against sixth seed Danny Noppert on Saturday afternoon.
De Decker is now assured of his place at the European Championship alongside world number two Michael Smith, who overcame a sluggish display to see off a struggling Kevin Doets 6-3.
Nathan Aspinall also moved one step closer to qualification after reeling off six consecutive legs to dispatch Host Nation Qualifier Michal Smejda 6-1, wrapping up proceedings with a 114 outshot.
Earlier in the day, big stage debutant Pavel Drtil stole the headlines on home soil, causing a seismic shock with a 6-4 success against former Masters champion Joe Cullen.
However, Drtil was the solitary Czech representative to prevail on Day One in Prague, after Smejda, Daniel Markovsky and Jiri Brejcha were condemned to opening round exits.
Markovsky was on the receiving end of a merciless performance from Wade, who averaged 105.67 and converted 75% of his attempts at double on his way to a 6-1 rout.
Brejcha was beaten by Ritchie Edhouse for the second time on the European Tour in 2024, with the Englishman landing four 180s to move through to a meeting with world number one Luke Humphries.
UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will be a high-profile absentee in Dortmund later this month, after succumbing 6-2 to a clinical Jonny Clayton in a heavyweight first round clash.
Madars Razma, Callan Rydz and Brendan Dolan also saw their hopes of European Championship qualification dashed during a dramatic afternoon session.
Razma was beaten 6-3 by Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski in a gruelling encounter, while Rydz slipped to a fifth straight defeat against Martin Lukeman.
Meanwhile, Dolan – a European Championship semi-finalist in 2012 – suffered a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Gabriel Clemens, as the 41-year-old confirmed his place in next week’s showpiece.
Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld will join Clemens on German soil next week, after turning on the style in his six-leg blitz of Daryl Gurney.
Van Barneveld’s reward is a showdown with fifth seed Gerwyn Price, while Luke Woodhouse will face Kim Huybrechts after cruising to a whitewash win against Finland’s Marko Kantele.
Elsewhere, Jermaine Wattimena converted a stunning 141 checkout to wrap up a deciding-leg victory against Patrik Kovacs, defying a 170 outshot from the Hungarian earlier in the tie.
Niels Zonneveld won five straight legs to defeat Robert Owen 6-2 and join Wattimena in round two, while Alan Soutar punished a sub-par display from Florian Hempel to prevail by the same scoreline.
The second round will take place across two sessions on Saturday, with Humphries, Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen all set to enter the fray at PVA EXPO.
Live coverage of the Czech Darts Open will be streamed through Viaplay, and through DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ worldwide.
2024 Gambrinus Czech Darts Open
Friday October 18
First Round
Afternoon Session
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Robert Owen
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Patrik Kovacs
Ritchie Edhouse 6-2 Jiri Brejcha
Alan Soutar 6-2 Florian Hempel
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Madars Razma
Gabriel Clemens 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Callan Rydz
Pavel Drtil 6-4 Joe Cullen
Evening Session
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Marko Kantele
James Wade 6-1 Daniel Markovsky
Mike De Decker 6-1 Brett Claydon
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Michal Smejda
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Michael Smith 6-3 Kevin Doets
Saturday October 19
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Ricardo Pietreczko v Martin Lukeman
Damon Heta v Gabriel Clemens
Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena
Josh Rock v Pavel Drtil
Kim Huybrechts v Luke Woodhouse
Ross Smith v Alan Soutar
Danny Noppert v Mike De Decker
Ryan Searle v Michael Smith
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Gian van Veen v James Wade
Dave Chisnall v Niels Zonneveld
Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld
Stephen Bunting v Jonny Clayton
Michael van Gerwen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
Luke Humphries v Ritchie Edhouse
Martin Schindler v Peter Wright
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC Europe
