The reigning champion is out at the European Championship with Rob Cross defeated by James Wade in a dramatic last leg decider which 'The Machine' took after punishing two missed match darts and the 2018 champion moves on.
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To start, Wade broke at 2-1 with an 83 checkout on double 16 and they exchanged breaks with Wade going 4-2 up with a 72 checkout.
He continued to keep him at arms length with a 79 checkout at 5-3 before Wade missed 111 for the match and Cross was suddenly throwing for the victory in a decider.
But missed two match darts and Wade finally hit double one for the win after missing three prior himself.
While in a hard fought win, Danny Noppert saw off one of the stars of this season in Andrew Gilding who again rocked a new shirt but fell at the first hurdle to 'The Freeze' in a 6-3 win.
Noppert produced a 99 average and two ton-plus finishes as he moves onto the Last 16.
One in particular held the key as Noppert hit a 136 checkout to go 4-3 up with a break winning every leg from there after initially being 3-2 down to 'Goldfinger'. The UK Open champion sealed it from there on double six.
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NOPPERT GOES THROUGH!
Danny Noppert is safely through to the second round thanks to a hard-fought 6-3 victory over Andrew Gilding.
#EC2022 | R1
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