PDC Nordic Darts Masters – Day 1
Friday evening saw the fourth instalment of the World Series of Darts begin in Copenhagen for the Nordic Darts Masters. Six of the same PDC elite representatives from New York are playing in this tournament, with the newly-crowned Premier League champion Luke Littler and world number two Michael Van Gerwen absent. Stephen Bunting and Dimitri van den Bergh stepped in to replace them.
Game 1: Dimitri van den Bergh vs Dennis Nilsson
Dimitri van den Bergh’s welcomed return to the World Series saw him see off Dennis Nilsson with a comfortable 6-3 victory. Despite falling 2-1 behind, the Belgian superstar reeled off three on the spin to put himself 4-2 ahead.
Nilsson was unable to reclaim the lead back of van den Bergh, as the latter’s average of 96 put him in pole position to take the win. An average of 96 and high checkout of 114 could give van den Bergh the confidence to add more silverware on TV going into Saturday’s session.
Game 2: Nathan Aspinall vs Marko Kantele
Nathan Aspinall’s encounter with Marko Kantele saw him cruise to a 6-2 victory. Despite averaging 91, the affair was one-sided and he hit a 105 checkout on route. Aspinall’s success on the outer ring was a more than respectable 66.67%, hitting six doubles in nine attempts.
Game 3: Gerwyn Price vs Madars Razma
Gerwyn Price put in a strong showing in his opening round match, with him beating Madars Razma to a 6-2 scoreline. Price raced into a 3-0 lead which left Razma too much to do. Despite sealing two of the next three legs, Price was able to maintain his strong scoring to progress through, hitting 3 180’s and averaging 102.73.
Game 4: Stephen Bunting vs Daniel Larsson
Stephen Bunting’s World Series return nine years on saw him edge past Daniel Larsson in a last leg decider. It looked like he was going to steamroll to a 6-2 success but Larsson’s late charge of three conceutive legs forced the match into a last leg. A crucial hold put Bunting through.
Game 5: Peter Wright vs Johan Engstrom
Peter Wright was the only elite PDC representative to lose their opening round match as the Scotsman’s poor form continues. Wright was 4-2 and 5-3 up before losing three legs in a row to lose out in a last leg decider. To Engrstrom’s credit his 2 180’s and double percentage of 66.67% gave him a slight edge and will be back to play on Saturday.
Game 6: Michael Smith vs Paavo Myller
Michael Smith was able to swiftly move on from his first round defeat in Madison Square Garden last week. In his encounter with Paavo Myller. A comfortable display and average of 102.56 to Myller’s 78.91 meant he wasn’t troubled throughout the game. Despite the vast difference in final averages, Myller sneaked in a leg as Smith dominated 6-1.
Game 7: Rob Cross vs Jeffrey de Graaf
The game of the night was between Rob Cross and Jeffrey de Graaf, with the newly-crowned US Darts Master Cross averaging 108.19 to de Graaf’s 102.25. The 10-legs of arrows on display saw incredible scoring power between both and an outshot percentage of 40%+. Cross got out of the floodgates well to lead 3-0 and despite de Graaf showing fighting spirit to recover, he was edged out in a 6-4 scoreline.
Game 8: Luke Humphries vs Benjamin Drue Reus
The reigning world champion ended the evening’s proceedings with a whitewash 6-0 win over Benjamin Drue Reus. Humphries’ ruthless display saw Reus only have one attempt on the outer board as a 100 average put him through to the quarter-finals. Humphries’ highest checkout in the match was 100.