2023 German Darts Grand Prix Day 1 Roundup

Raymond van Barneveld and Gerwyn Price will face off again on Sunday at the Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix, following the Dutch veteran’s dramatic first-round victory in Munich.

The fourth £175,000 PDC European Tour event of the year got underway on Saturday at Zenith with two dramatic sessions of first round action, highlighted by Van Barneveld’s 11-leg thriller with Ian White.

During the game, the pair shared four ton-plus checkouts, with White’s 161 outclassed by Van Barneveld’s 131 to send the tie to a decider in leg ten – with the Englishman waiting on 46 for the match.

The deciding leg saw both players miss their chances to win in front of an enthralled German audience, with White’s four missed match darts allowing Van Barneveld back on double two.

The Dutch legend now faces another former World Champion, Price, in a tense second round match, with Van Barneveld winning twice in last year’s Grand Slam of Darts before the Welshman won the World Darts Championship.

The first day in Munich also saw big wins for reigning TV champions Andrew Gilding, Ross Smith, and Chris Dobey.

Gilding, the UK Open champion last month, advanced to a Sunday tie with Premier League star Jonny Clayton after a 6-1 first-round win over Poland’s Tytus Kanik.

Meanwhile, European Champion Smith defeated Germany’s Florian Hempel 6-1 to advance to a round two tie with Joe Cullen, impressing with a 101 average.

Chris Dobey, the 2023 Masters champion, was also in fine form as he raced past Spain’s Tony Martinez, dropping only one leg and averaging over 101 to tie with Premier League rival Dimitri Van den Bergh in the last 32.

Liam Maendl-Lawrance of Munich delighted his home crowd with a memorable 6-5 victory over Robert Owen, denying the Welshman his first European Tour victory in nearly six years with a 129 checkout in the deciding leg.

Maendl-Lawrance had been in attendance at the 2022 German Darts Grand Prix, but he followed up his European Tour debut last week by advancing to a clash with Danny Noppert after holding off Owen’s fightback from 5-3 down in a 40-minute epic.

Dragutin Horvat of Germany defeated Scott Waites 6-4, and the Host Nation Qualifier now faces Dave Chisnall, who won the year’s first European Tour event in February.

German number one Gabriel Clemens completed a trio of first-round wins on Saturday, holding off a fightback from Swedish debutant Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 to advance to a meeting with second seed Damon Heta.

Jeffrey de Zwaan defeated Brendan Dolan 6-5 with a superb 150 checkout for a 12-darter, setting up a match with top seed Luke Humphries.

Adam Warner, a Sheffield-based teacher, had a dream European Tour debut, winning 6-4 over Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde with 142 and 112 and two 12-darters.

In the second round on Sunday, the new PDC Tour Card Holder will face World Champion Michael Smith.

Berry van Peer hit six doubles on eight attempts in his 6-1 win over Jules van Dongen, tying him in the last 32 with World Youth Champion Josh Rock.

Lee Evans’ 6-2 victory over Alan Soutar puts him in a tie with Peter Wright, while Keane Barry’s 6-3 victory over Andy Boulton puts him in a match with third seed Rob Cross.

Callan Rydz’s clinical 6-3 win over Matt Campbell secures a second round meeting with Dirk van Duijvenbode, while Steve Beaton defeated Simon Whitlock in a deciding leg to advance to a tie with Jose de Sousa.

Following his 6-3 victory over Dutch ace Vincent van der Voort, Jim Williams will face Germany’s 12th seed Martin Schindler on Sunday.

Cameron Menzies held off Daryl Gurney’s comeback to win 6-4 and advance to face Nathan Aspinall in the second round.

2023 Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix

Saturday April 8

First Round

Afternoon Session

Berry van Peer 6-1 Jules van Dongen

Lee Evans 6-2 Alan Soutar

Callan Rydz 6-3 Matt Campbell

Adam Warner 6-4 Mario Vandenbogaerde

Keane Barry 6-3 Andy Boulton

Dragutin Horvat 6-4 Scott Waites

Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-5 Brendan Dolan

Andrew Gilding 6-1 Tytus Kanik

 

Evening Session 

Jim Williams 6-3 Vincent van der Voort

Cameron Menzies 6-4 Daryl Gurney

Steve Beaton 6-5 Simon Whitlock

Ross Smith 6-1 Florian Hempel

Liam Maendl-Lawrance 6-5 Robert Owen

Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Ian White

Chris Dobey 6-1 Tony Martinez

Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Oskar Lukasiak

 

Sunday April 9

Second Round

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Josh Rock v Berry van Peer

Dave Chisnall v Dragutin Horvat

Dirk van Duijvenbode v Callan Rydz

Rob Cross v Keane Barry

Jonny Clayton v Andrew Gilding

Joe Cullen v Ross Smith

Nathan Aspinall v Cameron Menzies

Jose de Sousa v Steve Beaton

 

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey

Danny Noppert v Liam Maendl-Lawrance

Michael Smith v Adam Warner

Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld

Damon Heta v Gabriel Clemens

Peter Wright v Lee Evans

Martin Schindler v Jim Williams

Luke Humphries v Jeffrey de Zwaan