Opening evening of the 2025 PDC Mr Vegas Nordic Masters proved to be a successful one for the big guns, despite one or two of them not firing with the ferocity they’d have liked.
By the end of the night, the power-packed octet consisting of this year’s Premier League line-up – that is, if you subbed on a Ferret for the Green Machine – were all through to Saturday. However, a few of them dodged some dicey moments, none more so than the aforementioned small Welsh furry mammal.
From the superstars on show, only Jonny Clayton had to survive match darts, as his opponent, the ever-dangerous Darius Labanauskas, spurned two chances to seal it – offering a lifeline to the recently crowned Dutch Darts Champ, which he gratefully accepted. The Lithuanian went toe to toe with his decorated opponent from the very start in a tense contest where only a single leg ever separated them. But in the final chapter, Clayton banged in a maximum to pile the pressure on Lucky D, who was anything but lucky on his attempts at double. Seizing his chance, Jonny did the business, causing Darius to Go Go Go.
Reigning Premier League champ, and fresh off his win at the O2, Luke Humphries didn’t have things all his own way either against the plucky Madars Razma – although it looked for a while like he did. Bursting into a commanding 5-2 lead, it was as if Cool Hand had the kettle boiled but then nipped out to the shop for milk. That brief absence allowed the Latvian to build momentum and eventually force a decider. However, that was when Humphries returned home, finished off his brew, and wrapped up the last-leg decider in just four visits.
Last year’s Nordic Masters champ, Gerwyn Price, got off to a flyer – knocking in a superb ton average as he eased past Norway’s Cor Dekker 6-3. It was pretty much plain sailing for the Welshman, who also seemed to nod off slightly after reaching 5-0. But he still saw it through comfortably, proving to Dekker that he’s the real Sheriff in town.
Only one of the men on the right-hand side of the draw suffered a whitewash – and that unfortunate honour fell to Benjamin Reus, who failed to register a single leg as he crashed out to Nathan Aspinall, who was cruising in third gear. Sporting orange hair for reasons only Benjamin will know, he frustratingly couldn’t shine as brightly as his barnet – a disappointment in front of his home nation crowd.
World Champion Luke Littler did enough to cruise past an under-par Viktor Tingstrom 6-3. The Nuke had plenty more gas in the tank but didn’t need to put his foot to the floor to dispatch the Swede. Similarly, stablemate Chris Dobey followed the same script, overcoming Jeffrey De Graaf 6-2 in the curtain-raiser. The Geordie will be relatively satisfied with his scoring, though he’ll be keen to improve on his 26% doubling rate ahead of his quarter-final.
To round things off, the major-winning English pair of Rob Cross and Stephen Bunting also booked their spots in the last eight with relative comfort. Voltage faced the sterner test, up against a man who impressed in Leverkusen last weekend – big Andreas Harrysson. The Swede had taken out former World Champs Bullyboy and Barney on European Tour duty just days earlier but couldn’t add Cross to his list of scalps, falling just short in a 6-4 defeat. As for The Bullet, he only decided to jump on his bike and pedal harder at the halfway mark against another Swede, Oskar Lukasiak. With the scores locked at 3-3, it quickly turned into the Bunting show – pulling away with three consecutive legs to secure his quarter-final spot.
It’s set to be an exciting final day of action in Copenhagen, kicking off with four blockbuster ties. At this stage, it’s anyone’s guess who grabs the glory.
First Round
Chris Dobey 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Cor Dekker
Rob Cross 6-4 Andreas Harrysson
Luke Humphries 6-5 Madars Razma
Nathan Aspinall 6-0 Benjamin Reus
Luke Littler 6-3 Viktor Tingstrom
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Oskar Lukasiak
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting v Jonny Clayton
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
Rob Cross v Chris Dobey
Gerwyn Price v Luke Humphries
Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals
Bunting/Clayton v Littler/Aspinall
Cross/Dobey v Price/Humphries
Best of 13 legs
—–ENDS—–
Images: Simon O’Connor/PDC
