Former World Champions and Biggest Local Stars Safely Through as Barney and Waites, Hopp and Schindler Win in Munich
The 2022 German Darts Grand Prix began on Friday as the third European Tour of the year started. First Round action got underway and there were wins for the likes of Scott Waites and Raymond van Barneveld in Munich, with former Lakeside champion Waites through to face World Number 1 Peter Wright in Round 2.
Scotty 2 Hotty averaged lower than opponent Dragutin Horvat in Germany but beat the hometown local 6-1 and included a 106 checkout on tops to seal his spot in the Second Round. Horvat won one leg in the whole match and finished 160 to win it in the second leg and hold throw. Waites averaged 89.65 on stage so will know he will have to play a lot better if he’s to beat Snakebite in Munich.
Raymond van Barneveld cruised through to Round 2, whitewashing James Wilson 6-0 to go through to face Damon Heta in the Second Round. The Five Time World Champion averaged just short of 95 against the Jammy Dodger and included a 70 checkout to win his fifth leg of the match, before closing the match in the next leg to advance.
Dave Chisnall won the last match of the night after beating youngster Ryan Meikle 6-4 to go through to Sunday at the German Grand Prix. Chizzy certainly entertained the crowd on his return to Germany, hitting six maximums out of a total seven in the entire match.
The former World Semi Finalist averaged 98.18 on the oche and missed just five darts at double in booking his place against Premier League champion Jonny Clayton in the Second Round. Despite losing, Meikle can come away from Germany still with a smile after averaging more than opponent Chisnall in the match, with more opportunities to showcase his talent fast approaching.
Max Hopp and Martin Schindler gave the home crowd something to shout about, as the former German World Cup Team made it through in Munich. Schindler has enjoyed a strong start to 2022 having made it to a Final on the Pro Tour and has found his feet in the Euro Tour beating Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 with a 93.55 average.
The Wall held throw in the seventh leg with a 136 checkout to go within one of the Second Round and goes through to face Brendan Dolan in the penultimate match of Sunday’s afternoon session.
Max Hopp defeated Alan Soutar 6-4 earlier on in the evening session in a match that saw five maximums on the oche. It was Soots who hit more in the match with three in comparison to Hopp’s two and the Scotsman also had a better double percentage of the pair.
But it was The Maximiser who made it through, hitting double nine with his first dart in the tenth leg after Soutar left double 16 from his previous visit to the board. Hopp will face Dimitri van den Bergh in the next round, with The Dream Maker still looking for his first victory of 2022 on the PDC Circuit.
Wesley Plaisier averaged 104.05 in beating Jim Williams on Saturday afternoon in a very impressive display from the Dutchman, who included one maximum and a 128 finish in the seventh leg to go 5-2 up. Plaisier will need a similar performance in the Second Round as he faces Joe Cullen in Round 2.
There were also wins for Chris Dobey, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Keane Barry on the opening day in Munich, as de Zwaan won an all-Dutch affair with compatriot Vincent van der Voort coming through a last leg decider to go through to face Luke Humphries on Sunday.
Euro Tour action continues this afternoon with Callan Rydz facing Keegan Brown in the opening match in Munich on Sunday.
German Darts Grand Prix: Round 1 Results
Boris Krcmar 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Berry van Peer 6-4 Daniel Larsson
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Adam Gawlas
Wesley Plaisier 6-3 Jim Williams
Keegan Brown 6-2 Adam Hunt
Scott Waites 6-1 Dragutin Horvat
Chris Dobey 6-2 John O’Shea
Madars Razma 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Max Hopp 6-4 Alan Soutar
Danny Baggish 6-2 Thomas Junghans
Keane Barry 6-4 Lukas Wenig
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Martin Schindler 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 James Wilson
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Ryan Meikle
German Darts Grand Prix: Day 2 Order of Play: Afternoon
Callan Rydz (15) v Keegan Brown
Rob Cross (10) v Karel Sedlacek
Dirk van Duijvenbode (11) v Boris Krcmar
Jose de Sousa (2) v Madars Razma
Joe Cullen (6) v Wesley Plaisier
Luke Humphries (14) v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Brendan Dolan (8) v Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton (5) v Dave Chisnall
German Darts Grand Prix: Day 2 Order of Play: Evening
Dimitri van den Bergh (12) v Max Hopp
Damon Heta (13) v Raymond van Barneveld
Gabriel Clemens (16) v Martin Lukeman
Gerwyn Price (1) v Keane Barry
Peter Wright (4) v Scott Waites
Michael van Gerwen (7) v Chris Dobey
Ryan Searle (9) v Danny Baggish
Michael Smith (3) v Berry van Peer
—–ENDS—–
Words: Harry Masterson
Images: PDC Europe
