The action in Leverkusen continued today, as the final 16 was confirmed at the European Darts Open. Despite the blistering heat in the Ostermann-Arena, the conditions did not prevent the production of some red-hot performances on the second day.
Speaking of heat, Damon Heta revived some of his form to kick off proceedings on the second day with a 6-4 victory over (almost) nine-dart hero Rob Owen. Heta pinned 5 maximums to become the first seeded player into the final day in Leverkusen.
But once again, the unlikely hero of yesterday’s action, Jan Schmidt produced yet another scalp, dumping out former World Grand Prix Champion Mike De Decker in a last-leg decider.
Just like London Buses, ‘Lightning’ doubled his overall win tally on the Euro Tour, having overcome the challenge of Cameron Menzies yesterday. Schmidt gave the German crowd yet another moment to celebrate as he booked his place in the final day of the tournament.
Sebastian Bialecki must also be praised as he continued his winning run progressing into the final stage in fine fettle, beating Danny Noppert 6-3. Both players played their part in a fascinating contest, but the plaudits must be given to Bialecki who averaged just shy of a ton in victory.
Having eclipsed the top-64 in the World, relinquishing his ability to play on the Development Tour, reaching the latter stages of tournaments like this will give the Polish thrower excellent confidence going into the last quarter of the year.
Wessel Nijman did Wessel Nijman things as he put Bradley Brooks to the sword 6-0 in the third whitewash of the afternoon session. Nijman did not necessarily blow Brooks away with his scoring power but with his fine finishing, only missing 3 darts at double, the Dutchman had more than enough to progress into the third round of the European Darts Open. His efficient finishing was epitomised by the 170 checkout he produced in the very first leg of the match.
In the final match of the afternoon session, Krzysztof Ratajski snuffed out any hope of a comeback from Max Hopp, who had all of the Leverkusen crowd on his side. Some late scoring power was not enough for the German on home soil as Ratajski comes out a 6-3 winner.
As the evening approached, Ryan Joyce found some of the form he’s produced on the European Tour stage this year as he dumped out sixth seed Stephen Bunting 6-4. ‘Relentless’ now leads the head-to-head between the pair 5-4 and enters the final day to face Jermaine Wattimena in the round of 16.
Michael van Gerwen also looked back to his brilliant best after he recorded an average of 99 and change breezing past Joe Cullen 6-2 in an impressive performance. ‘MVG’ hit a majestic 142 checkout whilst also limiting Cullen to just four darts at double to seal his place in the third round, setting up a match-up against Heta.
Undoubtedly the match of the night was Gian van Veen’s success in dispatching Niko Springer. Both players averaged over a ton but it was the Dutchman who defeated a Springer who had the home crowd well and truly on his side.
Though, Nathan Aspinall stole the headlines as he produced the biggest performance of the weekend, as ‘The Asp’ averaged north of 107 ina 6-1 demolition of Mickey Mansell. In looking like a man on a mission, Aspinall sets up a meeting with fellow countryman with Ross Smith, who defeated Niels Zonneveld 6-1 in the final match of the day.
As we move into the final day in Leverkusen, the last-16 is set with some intriguing ties on the table. The last of German hopes lie solely on host nation qualifier, who is hoping to take yet another scalp against ‘The Machine’, James Wade.
European Darts Open – Day one results:
Damon Heta 6-4 Rob Owen
Jan Schmidt 6-5 Mike De Decker
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Dragutin Horvat
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Danny Noppert
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Kim Huybrechts
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Chris Dobey
Wessel Nijman 6-0 Bradley Brooks
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Max Hopp
Evenjng session:
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Ryan Joyce
James Wade 6-4 Maik Kuikenhoven
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Karel Sedlacek
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Joe Cullen
Gian van Veen 6-3 Niko Springer
Kevin Doets 6-3 Martin Schindler
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Ross Smith 6-1 Niels Zonneveld
Images: PDC Europe
