Krzysztof Ratajski prevails against Felix Springer in German Darts Championship as Andrew Gilding's return to Dortmund dealt significant blow

It was a dramatic first session in the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim, with Krzysztof Ratajski and Andrew Gilding picking up mixed results in their hunt to qualify for the European Championships.

Ratajski secured a hugely important 6-1 win against the closely observed Felix Springer, younger brother of Niko Springer who has already left his mark in the PDC, winning a European Tour event in Budapest recently. He was in attendance to watch his brother, but Felix could not come up with the goods to defeat the Polish Eagle who made it tough for the German.

He started with a 12-darter to take the lead, swiftly followed by a break of throw. Springer mounted some pressure on his opponent by leaving double 11 after straying into the double 18 segment, but Ratajski safely secured the leg. The crowd went crazy after Springer got his first leg on the board, in which he reacted with a big roar. He was unable to take anything else from the tie, with the Pole showing his class on the way to victory.

This win for Ratajski bumped Gilding down to 32nd and the last qualification spot, with a win against O’Connor mandatory. He started well as he clinched the first leg but a 116 from the Irishman gets him on the board. He followed that up with a break before taking out 68 in two to streak 3-1 ahead. He should have had a dart to continue his positive form, but he failed to hit the big number, allowing Gilding to hold. The Magpie went two ahead once more and stretched it out to three legs after the former UK Open champion once again missed at tops. Goldfinger collected a couple of legs to keep his dreams alit, but that was extinguished by O’Connor who pinned double eight to win 6-4, leaving Gilding in an uncertain position for Dortmund.

The opening match saw a high-quality affair between Cameron Menzies and Wesley Plaisier. The Dutchman found 13 and 12 darters to motor into a 2-0 lead before Menzies found three on the spin to go ahead for the first time. Plaisier levelled the tie before taking out 143 in fabulous fashion. Despite this, it was the last leg he would win as Cammy made a dash towards the finish line. Plaisier’s levels fell slightly, and sloppiness on the outer ring at the end opens the door for the Scot to slot his name into round two.

Wessel Nijman missed 14 darts at a double on his way to a 6-2 win over home-nation qualifier Martin Kramer, with eight of them coming in the first leg in which he fell behind. Nijman follows that with a 101 checkout, but a couple of legs later Kramer gets his second leg on the board. Bonsai missed three darts at double to go 3-2 ahead, with Nijman going on to take the next four legs and breeze into round two.

Ryan Joyce was superb in a 6-2 triumph over Justin Hood, averaging over 104 in the process. He commenced with a 14-darter before ending up in the madhouse after a plethora of missed doubles. His favourite double 16 is found twice on the bounce to go 4-0 ahead before Hood finds that target to prevent the whitewash. Relentless took out 83 on double nine to go one away, but Happy Feet found a 12 darter to keep the tie alive. Joyce soon extinguished any hopes of a comeback by taking out 87 in two to set up a second-round clash against the number one seed Stephen Bunting.

The closest tie of the session came between Luke Woodhouse and Tom Bissell, with Woody just managing to sneak through. Woodhouse previously made the Swiss Darts Trophy final and will be looking for one better in Hildesheim. He stole the first break after Bissell fluffed his lines, but The Business upped his game and won two legs on the bounce to level at 3-3. Two legs later, Woodhouse takes out 110 after previously coming close in a prior leg to go 5-4 ahead and stole a march on his opponent with double eight getting the job done.

It was a comfortable win for Niels Zonneveld, who defeated Darius Labanauskas 6-2. The Lithuanian mounted a comeback when 3-0 down, winning two legs on the spin to keep Tripple Z on his toes. It would not be enough however as the Dutchman swept up the remaining three legs to progress.

Steve Lennon was able to dispatch Jeffrey de Graaf with ease, coming through a slow start to take out combination shots including 61, 87, and 114 enroute to going 5-1 ahead. De Graaf pinned an 11 darter to keep his faint hopes alive, but Scuba Steve confirmed the win on tops for a 6-2 triumph, averaging over 97 in the process.