European Darts Matchplay 2019 preview and schedule: Sunday 8 September, afternoon session
European Tour
The final day of the European Darts Matchplay begins with a repeat of the last European Tour event's final.
ADVERTISEMENT
Michael van Gerwen met Mensur Suljovic at the climax of the Austrian Darts Championship, aiming for a third title on the bounce. Instead it was the Gentle who rose to the occasion. Now his European Darts Matchplay hopes hinge on seeing off Mighty Mike at an earlier stage. Both were impressive against strong opponents on Saturday. It could be seriously tight.
The same is true of most of these ties on paper - a direct result of 14 of the 16 seeds going through. Adrian Lewis, after making light work of Dirk van Duijvenbode, faces a tough test in the form of Krzysztof Ratajski. Then comes a reunion between World Matchplay semi-finalists. Rob Cross garnered a memorable comeback win over Daryl Gurney in Blackpool. Perhaps Superchin will have his revenge in Mannheim.
The fourth tie is one of two all-English affairs. Dave Chisnall and Ricky Evans dispatched Ryan Meikle and Karsten Koch respectively, both in double-quick time. Then again, that's how all of Evans' games tend to go. Ian White avoided a major banana skin in German hopeful Gabriel Clemens; his reward is a clash with Jonny Clayton. European Darts Matchplay success would be a fantastic way for the Diamond to regain his sparkle.
Two non-seeds left standing
Wayne Jones has established himself as the dark horse of the European Darts Matchplay. The Black Country thrower wasn't the favourite against Jeffrey de Zwaan, but won in style. The same diagnosis was given before he met Nathan Aspinall, and he achieved the same result. James Wade won't be fooled by Jones' underdog status.
William O'Connor is the other unseeded player, alongside Jones, to make it to Sunday. After battling past Max Hopp, the Irish star downed Peter Wright in a deciding leg. O'Connor's love affair with the European Darts Matchplay rolls on. And so it falls to Joe Cullen, an impressive 6-3 Saturday winner over Jamie Hughes, to stop him in his tracks.
ADVERTISEMENT
The final tie of the afternoon session pits Gerwyn Price against Glen Durrant. Both won 6-3 yesterday, Price seeing off Simon Stevenson and Durrant halting Cody Harris in his tracks. The Welshman's superb 102 average in that win over Stevenson might give him a mental edge. But Duzza is easily capable of matching that sort of performance.
European Darts Matchplay schedule
Sunday afternoon session
Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic
Adrian Lewis v Krzysztof Ratajski
Daryl Gurney v Rob Cross
Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans
Ian White v Jonny Clayton
James Wade v Wayne Jones
William O'Connor v Joe Cullen
Gerwyn Price v Glen Durrant
Adrian Lewis v Krzysztof Ratajski
Daryl Gurney v Rob Cross
Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans
Ian White v Jonny Clayton
James Wade v Wayne Jones
William O'Connor v Joe Cullen
Gerwyn Price v Glen Durrant
ADVERTISEMENT
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026