If Ally Pally wanted shocks and fireworks on Friday night, they got it from the very start as former European Champion, Ross Smith unwillingly obliged.
Sweden’s, Andreas Harrysson provided the biggest shock of the tournament so far, taking full advantage from Smudger’s spurning of six match darts to claim a dramatic 3-2 triumph.
Smith started the night like a man still in the practice room, clocking up the first two legs before finally engaging his tungsten brain and nicking the set.
Harrysson — a man who looks like he was hand-carved from Scandinavian timber — hit the accelerator again in set two and this time held firm to level.
Set three? The Dover resident back in front.The fourth … Smith should be shaking hands, collecting the applause, and heading back home. But instead … pure despair. Six match darts that would have sent him sailing through. Half a dozen attempts that now belong in the museum of Ally Pally heartbreak.
Dirty Harry pounced, dragged the match kicking into a decider, and Smith never recovered. Bang. Gone.
Next on stage: a man dressed like Christmas itself got drunk and decided to sponsor him — Ricky Evans. Rapid Ricky, ironically festive and gravy hater, chaos merchant… and yet one of the most effective performers of the night.
He saw off Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung in straight sets, but anyone glancing only at the scoreline will assume it was a walk in a winter wonderland. It wasn’t.
Evans got the job done 3-0, yes, but the last two sets went to a decider, and both players were sharper on the doubles than a freshly polished icicle. The difference? Timing. Pure, cruel timing. When the moment came, Ricky struck.
If James Wade navigates past Japan’s Ryusei Azemoto — and he usually does navigate past people this early — then Rapid Evans will get a blockbuster next.
Hopefully he finds time to repair the Christmas trousers he spectacularly ripped on stage. Nothing says Ally Pally like an exposed Evans.
Then came the one everyone was waiting for: Gian van Veen, the man many are tipping to ruin the Luke-dominant narrative. Dan Dawson is already leading the parade, wearing a t-shirt reading “Anyone But A Luke”. And to be fair, GVV delivered.
A 99-ish average, slick finishing, swagger in the throw — the European Champion looked every inch a danger man.Opposite him, Cristo Reyes reminded everyone why he used to be one of Ally Pally’s cult heroes.
Five years away from the Palace and the Spainard still threw like a man who knew every groove of the stage. He gave GVV heat, heart and hope… just not enough.
Van Veen blitzed to a two-set lead, dropping only a single leg. Reyes, though? He’s been around this block. He rose, took the third, then pushed Gian all the way in set four. One more dart, one more moment and we could’ve had another upset. But class told.
GVV marches on with a win that felt less like a routine victory and more like a warning flare.
And to close the curtain, Damon Heta — part darts player, part barbecue enthusiast, part Australian enigma — eliminated Steve Lennon and in doing so nudged the Irishman down the dark tunnel that leads to Q-School.
It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t poetic. It was simply efficient. Heta went 2-0 up, Lennon briefly flickered into life, and then The Heat switched burners and closed it out.
Not a classic, but more than enough. Next for him? Either Raymond van Barneveld, a five-time world champion with a gravitational pull all of his own… or Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont, the man hoping to spoil the sentimental scriptwriters’ plans.
Friday 12th December (Evening Session)
Ross Smith 2-3 Andreas Harrysson
Ricky Evans 3-0 Man Lok Leung
Gian van Veen 3-1 Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta 3-1 Steve Lennon
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
