Home favourites Karel Sedlacek,  Adam Gawlas, and Vitezslav Sedlak stole the show as the 2022 Gambrinus Czech Darts Open got underway today, with 16 matches taking place across two sessions in Prague.

Afternoon Session

Ricky Evans and Josh Rock clashed in arguably the most eagerly anticipated match of the session and it proved to be a high-quality encounter with both players averaging in the high 90s, ‘Rapid Ricky’ eeking out a 6-4 victory. Rock’s profligacy on the outer ring turned out to be a deciding factor, the man from Northern Ireland hitting just 4 of 20 attempts at double.

There was better news for another man from Northern Ireland as Mickey Mansell hit 4 180s and averaged 97 to beat Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-4. He now goes on to face fellow countryman Brendan Dolan on Saturday afternoon.

Rowby-John Rodriguez impressed as he dispatched Scott Waites 6-2, the Austrian averaging 99 and finishing with a 60% success rate on the doubles in the process. He faces a man in form, Michael Smith next.

Sedlak enjoys home success

The final match of the session gave the home fans something to cheer as home nation qualifier Vitezslav Sedlak provided a minor shock, beating Jon Worsley 6-4. Both players started slowly in a nip and tuck encounter before Sedlak broke the Worsley throw in 15 darts to claim victory. Sedlak now has the small matter of Michael van Gerwen to contend with tomorrow.

Elsewhere, there were comfortable 6-1 wins for Martin Lukeman and Ritchie Edhouse over Martijn Dragt and Ondrej Plsek respectively while Jose Justicia and Jules van Dongen claimed 6-2 victories over Miloslav Navratil and Brett Claydon respectively.

Evening Session

Karel Sedlacek set up a tasty-looking Saturday evening match-up with Dirk van Duijvenbode, much to the delight of his home fans, as he defeated Gabriel Clemens 6-3. In a steady rather than spectacular performance, ‘Evil Charlie’ averaged 90 to dispose of his German counterpart, the highlight being a 101 checkout to go within a leg of victory at 5-2.

Sedlacek was the second Czech victor of the evening after Adam Gawlas had earlier beaten Dennie Olde Kalter 6-4, hitting 4 maximums along the way.

Nathan Aspinall will play Dimitri van den Bergh in a mouth-watering clash on Saturday after he dispatched John Henderson with consummate ease, with the loss of a single leg. Dave Chisnall went one better than ‘The Asp’ as he whitewashed host nation qualifier, Filip Sebesta.

Jackpot sets up a meeting with Price

Former two-time world champion Adrian Lewis advanced to a clash with another former world champion in the form of Gerwyn Price, as he beat Ted Evetts 6-3. ‘Jackpot’ will look to replicate his accuracy on the doubles against the ‘Ice Man’ after finishing with a 60% success rate against ‘Super Ted’.

Ross Smith will face Joe Cullen after he beat Florian Hempel 6-4 while Martijn Kleermaker defeated Polish youngster Sebastian Bialecki by the same scoreline to set up a Saturday afternoon clash with Jose De Sousa.

The final match of the evening was an all-Dutch affair and it was the experience of Vincent van der Voort that came to the fore as he beat Geert Nentjes 6-2. He will now face Martin Schindler.

Gambrinus Czech Darts Open
Schedule of Play
Friday May 13
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Martijn Dragt 1-6 Martin Lukeman
Scott Waites 2-6 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jose Justicia 6-2 Miloslav Navratil
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Jules van Dongen 6-2 Brett Claydon
Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 Ondrej Plsek
Ricky Evans 6-4 Josh Rock
Jon Worsley 4-6 Vitezslav Sedlak

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Florian Hempel 4-6 Ross Smith
Martijn Kleermaker 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Filip Sebesta
John Henderson 1-6 Nathan Aspinall
Dennie Olde Kalter 4-6 Adam Gawlas
Ted Evetts 3-6 Adrian Lewis
Gabriel Clemens 3-6 Karel Sedlacek
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Geert Nentjes

Saturday May 14
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Krzysztof Ratajski v Ricky Evans
Brendan Dolan v Mickey Mansell
Luke Humphries v Martin Lukeman
Rob Cross v Jules van Dongen
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Nathan Aspinall
Jose de Sousa v Martijn Kleermaker
Daryl Gurney v Dave Chisnall
Michael Smith v Rowby-John Rodriguez

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Damon Heta v Adam Gawlas
Martin Schindler v Vincent Van der Voort
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Karel Sedlacek
Jonny Clayton v Jose Justicia
Michael van Gerwen v Vitezslav Sedlak
Gerwyn Price v Adrian Lewis
Joe Cullen v Ross Smith
Ryan Searle v Ritchie Edhouse