Andrew Gilding stars with 107 average as Raymond van Barneveld suffers first round defeat at Players Championship 20

Players Championship 20 is now underway in Wigan and the first few opening round matches have now concluded. Among the early victors was a very impressive Andrew Gilding.

The former UK Open champion had the always dangerous Karel Sedlacek in his first round tie. With the Czech darter averaging 107.2 it was far from plain sailing for 'Goldfinger', despite his own lofty average of 106.8. In the end though, it was the Englishman who took the win, 6-2.

Elsewhere, Raymond van Barneveld was dumped out for Welshman Jim Williams. 'Barney' gained a break lead in the third leg via a 15-darter, but then immediately gave up his own leg as well. The Dutchman then regained a break lead after the seventh leg via a 15-darter and a 12-darter. Williams was not impressed, however, and fired two 11-darters into the board to turn the 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead. Van Barneveld then forced a final leg, but the 11th leg went to his Welsh opponent with a 106 finish.

Dirk van Duijvenbode also failed to make it in the first round. 'Aubergenius' surprisingly lost 6-2 to William O'Connor, while Ryan Joyce took a 6-3 win in his opener. Dimitri van den Bergh and Mike de Decker provided the first Belgian successes of the day. Van den Bergh prevailed 6-2 against Christian Perez, and De Decker was 6-1 too strong for Brett Claydon.

Jonny Clayton also qualified for the second round of Players Championship 20 after a 6-3 win over Keane Barry. Steve Beaton advanced at the expense of Joe Cullen (6-1), while Michael Smith ensured the elimination of Rhys Griffin (6-1).