Ratajski comes from behind to edge out Owen, Aspinall smashes Viljanen

Krzysztof Ratajski, Niels Zonneveld and Nathan Aspinall are the next players through to the second round at the European Darts Grand Prix with victories over Robert Owen, Michael Hurtz and Kim Viljanen respectively.

Ratajski reeled off four straight legs to come from 4-2 down to defeat Robert Owen who was making his return to the European Tour. He ended up winning 6-4 against 'Stack Attack' with a 94 average and 35 percent on the doubles in a close victory. Zonneveld saw off Host Nation Qualifier, Michael Hurtz in a 6-4 win in a tie that wasn't as high quality with both players averaging around the mid 70's mark. The Dutch debutant went 3-1 up with a 103 finish and his opponent seemed beaten but he pulled it back to 3-3. It then went to 5-4 but Zonneveld pulled away to 6-4 to claim the victory. Aspinall finally completed a 6-1 rout over Kim Viljanen with a 103 average to continue his good form as of late. His highest checkout of the match was a 115 and he ended up with 42 percent on his doubles which equates to 6/14 on his doubling attempts. He will have a tougher test though in the second round in the form of Max Hopp where he will battling both the in-form German ace and the crowd in Sindelfingen. for more information about the PDC European Tour, including the format, calendar and the prize fund breakdown. First Round Pero Ljubic (84) 3-6 (92.3) Ross Smith Matthew Edgar (83.63) 3-6 (95.94) James Richardson Robert Owen (91.22) 4-6 (94.69) Krzysztof Ratajski Niels Zonneveld (79.15) 6-4 (78.15) Michael Hurtz Kim Viljanen (82.09) 1-6 (102.97) Nathan Aspinall Mark McGeeney v Josh Payne Brendan Dolan v Michael Rosenauer Michael Rasztovits v Dimitri Van den Bergh