Wright outs MvG as the Dutchman still suffering from a shoulder injury on day two of the Euro Tour
Wright outs MvG as the Dutchman still suffering from a shoulder injury on day two of the Euro Tour.
Luke Humphries, the world number one, advanced to the third round of the Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open, while Peter Wright defeated reigning champion Michael van Gerwen in Wieze.
Day Two of the year’s first European Tour tournament saw 16 second round matches spread across two sessions, with Van Gerwen one of seven seeded players eliminated at the Oktoberhallen.
The Dutchman has been dealing with a shoulder ailment in recent weeks, and his problems were exacerbated by his old rival Wright, who took advantage of his opponent’s laziness to advance to the last 16 on Sunday.
“I nearly threw it away, but I got through,” reflected a relieved Wright, who pinned six of his 12 attempts at double to set up a third round contest against Jonny Clayton.
“Normally you have to produce a ton-plus average to beat Michael, but I know he’s struggling with his shoulder injury.
“Hopefully he gets better soon and starts playing the darts we know he can, and hopefully I do the same!”
Humphries, on the other hand, had the best performance of the day, averaging 110.65 in a crushing 6-1 victory over James Wade.
The World Champion continued his fabulous form, reeling off legs of 10, 16, 13, 14, 12, and 11 darts, following his first nighttime victory in the Premier League on Thursday.
“I love the European Tour. It’s made me the player I am today,” insisted Humphries, a UK Open runner-up last weekend.
“I didn’t have the best start to the season, but now I’m starting to feel like the world number one again, and I felt really good up there tonight.
“Everyone knows what I’m capable of and what I can produce, and now I believe I’m doing it on a more consistent basis.”
In other news, Luke Littler maintained his remarkable start on the European Tour, winning 6-3 against Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski after defeating Jose de Sousa in the deciding leg.
The 17-year-old phenom crushed six 180s on his way to win, setting up a rematch with fourth seed Damon Heta, who defeated Brendan Dolan 6-1 in Saturday’s afternoon session.
Mike De Decker kept Belgian dreams alive in Wieze, defeating an out-of-sorts Michael Smith with a crisp 6-2 victory to set up a match against Masters champion Stephen Bunting.
Bunting extended his European Tour winning record in last-leg deciders to 12 matches with a thrilling victory over sixth seed Josh Rock, converting an 81 on the bull to secure his passage.
Top seed Dave Chisnall also failed in his opener, missing a match dart in the final leg of his tie with Ryan Joyce.
Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson will reprise their duel for a spot in the quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon, following victories over Gabriel Clemens and Andreas Harrysson, respectively.
Price averaged 101 to defeat German number one Clemens, while Anderson won a thrilling match against Harrysson, averaging 103 and striking eight 180s in a duel with four ton-plus checkouts.
Joe Cullen posted another ton-topping average to advance to Sunday’s finals, finishing 6-3 against Dirk van Duijvenbode with a 104 average and a magnificent 170 checkout.
Clayton also had the best finish in his gruelling victory over Berry van Peer, averaging 98 and pinning 60% of his double tries to return to winning ways on the big stage.
Danny Noppert survived six match darts to overcome a 5-3 deficit against Chris Dobey, and his reward is a third-round encounter against Rob Cross, who rallied from 3-0 down to defeat Germany’s Lukas Wenig in the decider.
Ryan Searle and Ricardo Pietreczko also won last-leg battles over Richard Veenstra and Luke Woodhouse earlier in the day, securing meetings with Humphries and Joyce, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jermaine Wattimena celebrated his 36th birthday by making it to the European Tour Finals for the first time in five years, defeating Ross Smith 6-2 after defeating Daryl Gurney on Friday.
The third round will be played on Sunday afternoon, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final in a jam-packed evening session at Oktoberhallen.
Results
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Ross Smith
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Berry van Peer
Damon Heta 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle 6-5 Richard Veenstra
Danny Noppert 6-5 Chris Dobey
Gary Anderson 6-5 Andreas Harrysson
Joe Cullen 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Evening Session
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Mike De Decker 6-2 Michael Smith
Gerwyn Price 6-4,Gabriel Clemens
Peter Wright 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Littler 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Luke Humphries 6-1 James Wade
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Josh Rock
Rob Cross 6-5 Lukas Wenig
Sunday March 10
Third Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Ryan Joyce v Ricardo Pietreczko
Peter Wright v Jonny Clayton
Damon Heta v Luke Littler
Joe Cullen v Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Humphries v Ryan Searle
Rob Cross v Danny Noppert
Gerwyn Price v Gary Anderson
Stephen Bunting v Mike De Decker
