German Darts Championship 2019 schedule: Friday afternoon session

There's nothing like the tonic of the European Tour after an emotional Premier League rollercoaster.

The darting world is still reeling from the will-he-won't-he premature retirement of Raymond van Barneveld. But we must carry on in his hypothetical absence. And what better way to do that than with some German Darts Championship fun, live from Hildesheim.
Dave Prins will enjoy his biggest PDC Pro Tour payday since the 2018 UK Open just by turning up to the German Darts Championship. He could double his money by beating Simon Stevenson. A run at this year's UK Open might have convinced the Mirror Man that he can make it as a stage player.
Luke Humphries was one of the nine who enjoyed their Premier League 'contender' experience. The rising star has more chances to prove his merit on the European Tour, having already booked his German Open spot next month. All focus is on Hildesheim first however - he meets Martin Atkins in round one.
Possibly the tie of the afternoon session sees 'Rapid' Ricky Evans, the Dutch Darts Championship 2018 runner-up, play multiple major winner Rob Thornton. Evans is on the rise, while Thornton needs to put together every bit of ranking money he can for the major push.
Jyhan Artut's European Tour appearances are like London buses - you wait an age for one, and two come at once. His return was less than spectacular. He has the chance to put that right against Russian ace Boris Koltsov.
Mike de Decker plays Andrew Gilding for the right to take on Peter Wright in round two. Then "The Button", German debutant Kevin Knopf, meets Scott Taylor.
There's a true European flavour to the penultimate match of the afternoon as Ron Meulenkamp, one of just four Dutchman in the whole event, plays sole Fin Kim Viljanen. Then in a tie that would make Nigel Farage much more comfortable, Josh Payne of Gravesend takes on Andy Boulton, the best player Stoke-on-Trent has ever produced, apart from those other ones.
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Afternoon session schedule (13:00 local time, 12:00 GMT)

Dave Prins v Simon Stevenson Martin Atkins (Leeds) v Luke Humphries Ricky Evans v Robert Thornton Jyhan Artut v Boris Koltsov Mike de Decker v Andrew Gilding Kevin Knopf v Scott Taylor Ron Meulenkamp v Kim Viljanen Josh Payne v Andy Boulton