European Darts Trophy Saturday Afternoon Round-up | Dobey, Heta and Noppert impress enroute to victories as Cross and Chisnall exit at second round stage

The second round action in the European Darts Trophy began with a bang with a whole host of dramatic matches being played out in Gottingen. There were some key results for players out of form, which included Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall seriously hoping to get back on track. Both players could not do that, with Cross losing 6-5 to a clinical Dirk van Duijvenbode.

‘The Aubergenius’ was electric from the start, pumped from his energetic walk-on. He took out checkouts of 69, 126 and 72 in rampant fashion to move into a 3-0 lead. Cross got a first leg on the board with a 15-dart hold before the Dutchman went two away from victory.

However, his three-leg lead over the 2018 world champion soon vanished. Three missed darts at double 5 from van Duijvenbode was ironically followed by ‘Voltage pinning that target to break back. He then levelled at 4-4 before van Duijvenbode ended the drought and moved one from triumph. A 104 outshot at a critical time from Cross forced a last-leg decider, and it would be full of drama. Van Duijvenbode squandered a match dart on tops before, with two darts left in hand, Cross missed the 18 segment when on 68. The Dutchman kept his cool and pinned double two with his last dart in hand and blasted his way into the third round.

For the second year on the spin, Ross Smith defeats Dave Chisnall 6-4 in Gottingen, continuing his fine form over the eight-time Euro Tour winner. In contrast, Smith has never won a Euro Tour title, but he will be hoping that changes this weekend. After a pair of holds, ‘Smudger’ breaks the throw before Chisnall reigns him in instantly with a 121 on the bull. ‘Chizzy’ re-took the lead with a 92 checkout before missing the bull for a 164. Smith punished this with a phenomenal 144 checkout, followed by a huge roar.

He needed a break of throw to take the victory, and that would come near the end. He moved 5-4 ahead with a 66 checkout on tops. The former European champion has no issue in seeing it out, again relying on tops to push him through with a spot of deja-vu.

Chris Dobey did not break a sweat enroute to a 6-1 win over Luke Woodhouse. ‘Hollywood’ began the match in scintillating fashion. A 130 went on the bull, which was followed by a 120 checkout to break. Dobey had to keep his head with a very tricky opponent on the stage with him, and he came millimetres away from making it three ton+ checkouts in a row, wiring the bull for a 122. He would eventually take the leg on double two. ‘Woody’ got his first leg on the board but needed a break. Dobey took out 80 in three and edged back into a three-leg lead. Woodhouse missed four darts on the outer ring and was brutally punished by Dobey, who took out 70 in two.

Damon Heta picked up a first win on the Euro Tour since August with a 6-3 victory over Darius Labanauskas. Both players started on the front foot, exchanging breaks in the early stages. Heta held with a 14-darter before breaking to go 3-2 ahead but again the Lithuanian responded with efficiency. ‘The Heat’ turned on the afterburners. He took out 92 and 110 checkouts before completing the win and ending a torrid spell. His form has gone downhill in recent times, but this might be the catalyst for a return to his best.

Ryan Searle also impressed on stage, averaging just under a ton in a 6-3 win over Daryl Gurney to continue his fine form against him. Gurney kicked off the match with an impressive 104 checkout. Searle responds with three legs on the spin, with a 96 checkout on double 18 the highlight. He had the chance to top it with a 112 to break again but missed double 16 by a mile. Gurney got back to a one leg deficit but a 12-dart from ‘Heavy Metal’ showed his intentions. Gurney responded in a fighting manner, taking out 116 on double 18 for a 12-darter of his own but Searle continued to hold his throw. He forced Gurney to take out the 142 with him sitting on tops for the match. The Northern Irishman has a dart at that target for the big checkout but dragged it low as Searle got over the line.

Wessel Nijman continues to impress on the Euro Tour, picking up a 6-2 victory over Mike De Decker who could not get close. Nijman began proceedings with a bang, breaking in 13 darts. Double four was nailed to move 2-0 ahead before another break going the way of the young Dutchman was avoidable by De Decker who had his first darts at a double. De Decker broke instantly back with a 72 checkout in two as he closed the gap to just one leg. He would not get anything else from this match as Nijman raced away. He ended with an average over a ton and 40% on the doubles, sealing another very positive performance.

Danny Noppert had very little trouble in taking down Ricky Evans 6-1. The Englishman won 6-0 against Florian Preis yesterday, but it looked like he may be on the end of one of his own after going 3-0 down to the clinical Dutchman. Noppert would miss his first double of the match for a 160 but still went 4-0 ahead. Evans was awful on the outer ring, but he finally got a leg on the board before both players missed doubles for fun. Noppert relied on double two to get him past Evans.

While Noppert and Nijman breezed through, it was an opposite story for Wattimena, who squeezed past Lukas Wenig 6-5, to the dismay of the home fans. Wenig took the lead after four consecutive holds, taking out 48 in two as he moved 3-2 ahead. That would be 4-2 with the Dutchman’s game falling. Wening could also not keep this performance up and was broken back by the ‘Machine Gun.’ Somehow, ‘Luu’ ends up on double one from 84 and pins it to move one away. Wattimena replies with an 11-darter to break back and now threw for the match. There was drama when both players missed a match dart at the bull. Wattimena would be the first to return and edged past a tricky competitor.