Kim Huybrechts, Michael Smith and William O’Connor were among the players to make it through to the second day of the European Darts Matchplay as the European Tour event got underway in Mannheim, Germany on Friday.
Day One of the 11th European Tour event of 2019 saw 32 players in action at the Maimarkthalle all looking to secure places in Saturday’s second round where the 16 seeded players will enter the £140,000 event.
Huybrechts, pictured, defeated Robert Thornton to secure a place in the second round in a last leg decider, in a match where Thornton took out a 170 finish.
The Belgian averaged 97.35 in a thrilling contest which saw Huybrechts prevail over the 2015 World Grand Prix Champion who missed a dart at tops to win the match.
“It was a really tough game for the both of us. We know what we can do but we’re not doing it at the right time.” said Huybrechts, who will meet 2019 Austrian Darts Championship winner Mensur Suljovic in round two.
“The standard is getting so high and you need to follow it. After a few losses you will really struggle to get back to the level you were at.”
Michael Smith set up a tantalising second round clash with Michael van Gerwen after coming out the 6-3 victor against Steve Lennon.
Lennon’s World Cup of Darts partner William O’Connor will play Peter Wright in Saturday’s second round after winning a nail-biting deciding leg against German number one Max Hopp.
Karsten Koch also reeled in the big fish, joining Thornton in taking out a 170 on his way to a 6-3 win over Maik Kuivenhoven, while Jamie Hughes survived a scare as his match with Wesley Plaisier went all the way to a deciding leg.
Veteran Wayne Jones shocked Jeffrey de Zwaan with a 6-4 victory and Simon Stevenson defeated Florian Hempel 6-3.
In the opening session, Scott Taylor battled from 4-2 down to claim a 6-5 victory over Matthew Edgar and 19-year-old Bradley Brooks set up a second round clash with James Wade after beating Mark McGeeney 6-4, despite the Englishman averaging nearly 102.
Ryan Meikle achieved his first European Tour victory of the year over Brett Claydon, with Host Nation Qualifier Marvin Wehder getting past Dennis Nilsson on his European Tour debut.
Elsewhere, former two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis will face Dirk van Duijvenbode in his first assignment of the weekend, after Van Duijvenbode fought off a spirited comeback from Krzysztof Kciuk to win 6-5 in a last leg decider.
John Henderson achieved the only winning ton-plus average of the afternoon getting past Ryan Joyce with a 101.72 average in a 6-3 victory.
New Zealander Cody Harris punished Ross Smith’s crucial missed darts at double with a 6-4 victory setting up a clash with Glen Durrant, while Gabriel Clemens put in a dominant display as he defeated Steffen Siepmann 6-2.
2019 European Darts Matchplay
Friday September 6
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Scott Taylor 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Mark McGeeney
Ryan Meikle 6-3 Brett Claydon
Marvin Wehder 6-3 Dennis Nilsson
Cody Harris 6-4 Ross Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Krzysztof Kciuk
John Henderson 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Gabriel Clemens 6-2 Steffen Siepmann
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Simon Stevenson 6-3 Florian Hempel
Jamie Hughes 6-5 Wesley Plaisier
Keegan Brown 6-3 Simon Whitlock
Karsten Koch 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Robert Thornton
Michael Smith 6-3 Steve Lennon
William O’Connor 6-5 Max Hopp
Wayne Jones 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Saturday September 7
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Dave Chisnall v Ryan Meikle
Jonny Clayton v Scott Taylor
James Wade v Bradley Brooks
Adrian Lewis v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Glen Durrant v Cody Harris
Daryl Gurney v John Henderson
Gerwyn Price v Simon Stevenson
Rob Cross v Marvin Wedher
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Ricky Evans v Karsten Koch
Ian White v Gabriel Clemens
Krzysztof Ratajski v Keegan Brown
Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith
Mensur Suljovic v Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright v William O’Connor
Nathan Aspinall v Wayne Jones
Joe Cullen v Jamie Hughes