Jeffrey De Graaf has marked his return to the Ally Pally stage with a fabulous comeback from 2-0 down to fire back and win 3-2 against Ritchie Edhouse.
In a tight opening set, a deciding leg was required to separate the pair. In the end, it was the Englishman who took it, holding throw in 18 darts to edge the set and move into an early 1-0 lead.
Set 2 again went all the way to a decider. This time it was De Graaf who had the advantage of throw and kicking off the leg with three 140s on the spin, he looked in prime position to level up the match. A handful of missed darts for the set came and went however, allowing Edhouse to royally punish with a set winning 110.
After De Graaf broke in the opening leg of set 3, Edhouse fought back again in the following leg with his second ton-plus finish of the encounter, this time a 117. Despite a few misses in the following leg, he held throw to move a leg away from the match. De Graaf sent the set to a decider, but after he missed a set dart, Edhouse had 94 for the match. Unable to pin the double top however, De Graaf returned to get a set on the board.
Holding in 17 to open the fourth set, momentum was on De Graaf's side. A fourth straight leg followed for the Dutch/Swede before Edhouse stopped the rot and kept the set alive with a break of throw in leg 3. After Edhouse held in leg 4, a fourth straight set went the the distance. De Graaf took it with a superb 11-darter to level up the match.
Although Edhouse had the darts, De Graaf broke in 15 to wrestle the control for himself. Holding throw in leg 2 and it was De Graaf who was now just a leg away from the match. He then missed a match dart in the following leg with Edhouse keeping himself alive. Completing a fabulous comeback, De Graaf sealed the deal on double 16.