Czech Darts Open Friday afternoon session Round-Up | Joe Cullen out at the first hurdle as Springer and Doets impress

The Czech Darts Open kicked off with eight first round ties in Prague as the competition began with some high calibre performances and a notable shock exit.

Cameron Menzies kicked off the day with a comfortable 6-1 win over Jonas Engstrom. A 92.49 average was plenty enough to see off the Swede who was unable to challenge ‘Cammy.’ Checkouts of 64 and 115 got him going but there were some characteristic doubling troubles which was not capitalised. Menzies breezed over the finishing line and comfortably secures a spot in the second round.

Andrew Gilding followed in suit with a simple 6-3 win against the first of the Czech representatives David Rosi. The former UK Open champion was in a spot of bother early on with four breaks of throw starting the contest. Rosi led twice but ‘Goldfinger’ found his groove as he backed up a definitive break with an 81 checkout to lead 5-2. Rosi got one more leg on the board but the comeback was never on as Gilding saw it out on tops.

It was much tighter in an absolute thriller between Ryan Joyce and Kim Huybrechts. It went the distance, but it was the Englishman who managed to prevail 6-5. Twice Huybrechts broke with a 112 and 70 checkouts, with the latter moving him 5-4 to the good. However, he could not get the job done as he missed match darts. Joyce, who uncharacteristically missed 13 darts on the outer ring, managed to convert his chances at the right time to prevail in a dramatic contest.

Despite only averaging 82.35, William O’Connor was not troubled by Jiri Brejcha as he breezed to a 6-1 win in Prague. Checkouts of 116, 68 and 84 in three of the first four legs aided O’Connor’s positive start with not much coming the other way. He moved one away from the whitewash before the Czech darter managed to get a cheer from the crowd as he got on the board. He would not be on stage much longer as double five was pinned to secure a commanding win for O’Connor.

Niko Springer wasted no time in disposing of Martin Homola 6-0 in an extremely one-sided performance. Averaging 102.48, Springer pinned six of his 11 darts at double and did not allow his opponent a single dart on the outer ring. The first break of the match was followed by a brilliant 150 checkout. A second break followed to make it 4-0 with the Slovakian having no joy on the oche. Springer finished it with a 93 checkout on double 16 and sends out a statement to the rest of the field.

Kevin Doets also produced a ton+ average on the Prague stage as he saw off Ricky Evans 6-2. ‘Rapid’ Evans was a late call-up following James Wade withdrawing from the tournament, but he was not able to capitalise on the situation against a very solid Doets. The scoring propelled ‘Hawkeye’ in front with Evans having nine less attempts on the doubles than his opponent. This proved costly as Doets took a 4-1 lead before another break of throw right at the end confirmed himself a spot in tomorrow's order of play.

Someone who will not be returning is Joe Cullen. ‘The Rockstar’ was average on stage as Stephen Burton prevailed 6-3 in a rare European Tour win for the Ipswich thrower. The difference was on the doubles. Cullen racked up a woeful 20% checkout success, missing 12 of his attempts. That was compared to the 67% of Burton who took full advantage. There was just one break of throw in the whole match, with Burton going 4-2 ahead before seeing it out on throw. It is huge disappointment for Cullen who has made the final day of action just once on the European Tour in 2026.

To end the afternoon session, Callan Rydz comfortably disposed of a disappointing Cristo Reyes 6-1. This was lined up to be one of the matches of the session, but it turned out to be a one-sided affair going the way of ‘The Riot.’ After the pair traded breaks of throw in the first two legs, Rydz again seized the initiative and did not look back. Reyes has a reputation of being a remarkably dangerous player but could not muster that threat on the oche. With a 96 average, Rydz managed to see off his competitor and advances.