Wright and Anderson fall on day one of UK Open
Peter Wright and Gary Anderson were the two big names to be sent packing on day one of the 2021 UK Open.
Wright, the winner in 2017, lost 10-5 to Dave Chisnall. Anderson was beaten in a last leg decider by Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Elsewhere, day one of the UK Open saw:
- Michael Smith and Jose De Sousa come through last leg deciders to meet in round five
- Michael van Gerwen battle through against Scott Mitchell
- Alan Soutar and John Brown make round five from early starts
World Cup winners out
Wright and Anderson could not find their heavy scoring in their games, as the former World Cup winning pair for Scotland both crashed out.
Snakebite had no answer to Chisnall in the early stages of the match, going 5-1 down in the blink of an eye. However, the former World Champion fought hard, to go into the second interval trailing 6-4 after changing his equipment multiple times.
The big moment of the match came in leg 11, when Wright misses tops for a 66 shot. Chizzy found double four for a 14 dart break, to go 7-4 ahead before eventually cruising to a 10-5 victory. He faces Danny Noppert next.
Anderson faced van Duijvenbode in the first match of the evening session on the main stage. It looked comfortable for The Flying Scotsman early on, going 5-2 in front. However, the Aubergenius found his range, hitting an 11 darter, three 13 darters, and a 12 to win five straight legs and go 7-5 in front.
Anderson though fought hard, winning three straight legs to go 8-7 in front, before missing darts for the match in two straight legs. Van Duijvenbode levelled to force a decider, before hitting double three to avenge the loss in the World Darts Championship quarter finals. The Dutchman faces Jonny Clayton in a mouthwatering round five clash.
Smith and Van Gerwen battle through
Michael Smith was part of the game of the day in Milton Keynes against Joe Cullen.
Bully Boy went 5-1 down early on, as missed doubles allowed The Rockstar a big advantage. However, four straight legs, including a 170 outshot, saw Smith level up at 5-5.
The match deserved a last leg decider, and it got one. There, Cullen missed double 10 for a 128 and a 12 dart hold. Smith, who was on 41 after nine, took it out for an 11 darter to end a pulsating clash. Bully Boy takes on Jose De Sousa next, who also came through a fantastic last leg decider against Mervyn King earlier in the night.
Michael van Gerwen battled past Nathan Aspinall 10-8 in the fourth round of the event last year, before winning the title. He will be hoping history repeats itself, after battling past Scott Mitchell by the same scoreline.
Scotty Dog went 3-2 up, before Van Gerwen reeled off four straight legs to take a 6-3 lead. Mitchell though would not lie down, winning five of the next six legs to regain the advantage. A 101 checkout, with MvG on 32, saw him go in front 8-7, before his scoring deserted him. The Green Machine capitalised, hitting 16,14 and 16 darters to win three consecutive legs and go through 10-7. He faces Mensur Suljovic in the next round.
What else happened on day one of the UK Open?
On a very busy day one of the UK Open, John Brown and Alan Soutar were two unexpected players to make round five. Brown came from round one, before beating Mark McGeeney 10-6 in round four to make the last 32. He takes on Chris Dobey next.
Soutar continues to impress in his PDC debut. He saw off Raymond van Barneveld on the main stage in round two, before wins over Mickey Mansell and Stephen Bunting secured him a spot in the fifth round. He takes on Ron Meulenkamp and will be looking to make the last 16.
World Champion and World Number One Gerwyn Price also made it to the last 32, defeating Peter Hudson 10-5. Nathan Aspinall though dropped outside the world’s top 10, losing by the same scoreline to a clinical Krzysztof Ratajski.
Finally, it was an eventful day for Sebastian Bialecki. The young Polish star hit a nine dart finish against Jim McEwan in round one, before seeing Jitse Van der Wal hit one against him in round two. Bialecki made round four, before losing to Mensur Suljovic.
UK Open 2021 Round Four Results
Main Stage
Dirk van Duijvenbode 10-9 Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Scott Mitchell
Gerwyn Price 10-5 Peter Hudson
Dave Chisnall 10-5 Peter Wright
Stage Two
Jose De Sousa 10-9 Mervyn King
Rob Cross 10-8 Andy Hamilton
Krzysztof Ratajski 10-5 Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith 10-9 Joe Cullen
Stage Three
Daryl Gurney 10-8 Jason Lowe
Ryan Searle 10-7 Adrian Lewis
Max Hopp 10-6 Vincent van der Voort
John Brown 10-6 Mark McGeeney
Stage Four
Callan Rydz 10-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Jonny Clayton 10-7 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Darius Labanauskas 10-5 Darren Webster
James Wade 10-9 Ryan Joyce
Stage Five
Ricky Evans 10-7 Ian White
Alan Soutar 10-5 Stephen Bunting
Brendan Dolan 10-7 Kai Fan Leung
Martijn Kleermaker 10-8 Jamie Hughes
Stage Six
Simon Whitlock 10-7 Karel Sedlacek
Devon Petersen 10-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Luke Woodhouse 10-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Peter Jacques 10-9 Andy Boulton
Stage Seven
Mensur Suljovic 10-6 Sebastian Bialecki
Gabriel Clemens 10-4 Adam Hunt
Ron Meulenkamp 10-7 Steve Lennon
Madars Razma 10-6 David Evans
Stage Eight
Scott Waites 10-6 Keegan Brown
Chris Dobey 10-6 John Henderson
Danny Noppert 10-6 Glen Durrant
Luke Humphries 10-8 Kim Huybrechts
Fifth Round Schedule of Play
Saturday 6 March (12.45 GMT)
Main Stage
Rob Cross v James Wade
Gerwyn Price v Ricky Evans
Michael Smith v Jose de Sousa
Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic
Stage Two
Darius Labanauskas v Simon Whitlock
Daryl Gurney v Gabriel Clemens
Chris Dobey v John Brown
Jonny Clayton v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Stage Three
Luke Humphries v Ryan Searle
Callan Rydz v Martin Kleermaker
Alan Souter v Ron Meulenkamp
Luke Woodhouse v Brendan Dolan
Stage Four
Peter Jacques v Max Hopp
Scott Waites v Devon Petersen
Krzysztof Ratajski v Madars Razma
Dave Chisnall v Danny Noppert
How can I follow the UK Open?
The UK Open will be live on ITV in the UK. You can also watch it outside the UK via the PDC’s broadcast partners, such as RTL or DAZN.
You can also live stream the event. Find out more here.
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We’ll have a live blog for you every session of the tournament, so you don’t miss a moment even if you cannot watch live.
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