German Darts Open Preview: Day One, Evening Session

The next eight first round qualifiers need to be decided. That's where the evening session comes in. There are plenty of intriguing ties coming up, which are sure to entertain the Saarbrucken crowd. Two more German hopefuls take a shot at glory in front of their compatriots. Throw in a Pole, two Belgians, an Austrian, a Dutchman, a Scot, two Irishmen, five Englishmen and one adopted Aussie, and you have a pretty cosmopolitan European Tour session. That, or the first line of a very long and complicated joke.
Kicking off the evening's entertainment is German favourite Dragutin Horvat, who takes on Alan Tabern. The Englishman indulged in some giant-killing on a day of scalps at the German Darts Grand Prix, stunning Kyle Anderson. He'll have 16th seed Steve Beaton in his sights, should he overcome the dangerous Horvat. Kim Huybrechts was one of the seeds shocked in Munich. He doesn't feature in Saarbrucken, but big brother Ronny does. The Belgian meets Luke Humphries, whose thrashing of Gerwyn Price kicked off the series of surprises at the last European Tour event. Following those ties is a meeting between two players who know how to throw or a maximum or two. Steve Lennon meets Robert Thornton in what should be a very entertaining clash.
Max Hopp will have the crowd on his side, as he always does in his home nation. Germany's golden boy meets Zoran Lerchbacher in the first round. The winner of this tie will meet defending champion Peter Wright on Saturday evening. Rob Cross awaits the winner of Dimitri van den Bergh's meeting with William O'Connor. After their incredible World Championship battle, a few neutrals may be hoping that the world youth champion overcomes his Irish rival.
That meeting is followed by that of Paul Nicholson and Nathan Aspinall, with one of the pair set to take on 2017 runner-up Benito van de Pas in the second round. With Big Ben in a rut, both Nicholson and Aspinall will be confident of going on a good run. James Wade, who has been consistently impressive on the European Tour so far, takes on Tytus Kanik - who himself has made a bit of an impression on his fellow players. Keegan Brown had a very enjoyable German Darts Grand Prix. He'll hope to do the same again this time around, with Jermaine Wattimena standing in his way.
The action is all live on PDC TV, and begins at 6.15pm.

Dragutin Horvat v Alan Tabern
Luke Humphries v Ronny Huybrechts
Steve Lennon v Robert Thornton
Zoran Lerchbacher v Max Hopp
Dimitri Van den Bergh v William O'Connor
Paul Nicholson v Nathan Aspinall
James Wade v Tytus Kanik
Keegan Brown v Jermaine Wattimena