Michael van Gerwen came back from 5-4 to beat Darius Labanauskas on day one of the Nordic Darts Masters.
The former world number one was pushed all the way, but produced the comeback to advance to the quarter finals.
Elsewhere, the other big story saw Nathan Aspinall become the only PDC representative to be knocked out. He lost 6-4 to Madars Razma, as the Latvian booked a showdown with MvG in the last eight.
Both held in the opening two legs, with Labanauskas producing a 116 outshot to level. 35 darts later, Van Gerwen was 3-1 in front, before he missed double 18 to go 4-1 ahead. Lucky D, who hit a 165 the previous visit to leave 24, pinged double 12 to break immediately back.
Three holds followed, before Van Gerwen squandered five darts at double to move 5-4 ahead. Labanuskas then pinged tops to go within one of the match, but that was as close as he’d get to beating him for the first time. A 13 dart break, followed by a 15 dart hold, saw the Dutchman get over the line.
He’ll meet Razma in the last eight tomorrow, after the Latvian produced a good performance to beat Aspinall. Both held in the first two legs, before 13 and 12 dart legs from Razma saw him go 3-1 ahead.
The Asp managed to break back immediately as both players missed darts to take the fifth leg, before levelling up at 3-3 with a 78 outshot. However, after Razma held once more, The Asp missed three darts to equalise again. The Latvian eventually hit double 16 to go within one of the match.
Aspinall did break in the next leg, but after missing five match darts in the ninth leg, Razma eventually got over the line, hitting double eight to claim the 6-4 victory.
Despite admitting afterwards that he has an injury to his elbow, Gerwyn Price beat Daniel Larsson to win.
Both broke each other’s throw to start, before a 128 checkout from Price saw the first hold. Two further holds followed, but a 60 outshot from the world number one got him two legs clear. Both held again, before Price hit double five to win.
However, he confirmed in an interview with Online Darts that he will withdraw from the tournament.
It means that Fallon Sherrock will receive a bye through to the semi finals. She marked her return to the World Series stage with a 6-1 win over Denmark’s Niels Heinsoe.
A 104 shot from the Dane saw him take the opening leg, but that was as good as his night got. Six straight legs from The Queen of the Palace, including a 25 dart leg which saw both players miss multiple darts to win it, gave her a comfortable victory. Sherrock ended the match with a 13 dart break on double 18.
One half of Scotland’s World Cup winning team Peter Wright beat Marko Kantele 6-1. Despite not hitting a maximum, Snakebite cruised past his opponent, eventually hitting double 10 to win the match.
He’ll face Premier League champion Jonny Clayton in the last eight, as The Ferret won the second match of the night. He hit the highest average of the first day too, averaging 99.10 in a 6-0 whitewash over Ivan Springborg Poulsen.
The final last eight contest will see a rematch of the 2020 World Matchplay Final. Dimitri Van den Bergh beat Johan Engstrom 6-4, while Gary Anderson came through 6-3 against Andreas Toft Jorgensen.
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 Johan Engström
Jonny Clayton 6-0 Ivan Springborg Poulsen
Madars Razma 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Daniel Larsson
Gary Anderson 6-3 Andreas Toft Jørgensen
Fallon Sherrock 6-1 Niels Heinsøe
Peter Wright 6-1 Marko Kantele
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Quarter-Finals
Gerwyn Price v Fallon Sherrock
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Gary Anderson
Peter Wright v Jonny Clayton
Michael Van Gerwen v Madars Razma
Semi-Finals & Final
Format
First Round Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals Best of 21 legs
Final Best of 21 legs
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