International Darts Open Saturday Evening Round-up | Van Gerwen survives six match darts, van Veen shrugs off number one seed curse as Bunting begins title defence in formidable fashion

There was more second round action to be played out at the International Darts Open in Riesa. The number one and two seed headlined a jam-packed night of darts. Drama filled Michael van Gerwen’s clash against Madars Razma as the Dutchman survived six match darts to come back from 5-3 down to win 6-5 in a scrappy contest.

Van Gerwen has won 38 European Tour titles, but none of them are the International Darts Open. Two previous final ventures ended in defeats with his current inconsistent form leaving many guessing which van Gerwen we will see on stage. Glimmering flashes of quality showed what he is capable of, but an 89 average did not picture a pretty performance.

He missed a number of doubles in the first leg, and a floundering Razma caught up and took out 116 on double 18 to break. The Latvian then won two more legs, pounding that treble 19. However, van Gerwen started to make a contest out of it. A 12-darter culminated with a 164 checkout got him one away. An 11-darter moved Razma two clear once more, but a 127 on double eight kept ‘Mighty Mike’ in touch. Those moments of class were shrouded with sloppy darts. Five squandered doubles allowed Razma to move within one of a first win on a big stage. Six match darts came and went as van Gerwen dug himself out of a deep hole, forcing a last-leg decider. He pinned double 16, and progressed.

For years van Gerwen was used to being the number one seed. Recently, Gian van Veen has been the one having the number one next to his name. In three events as the top seed, he has lost in every single one. That trend has finally crumbled in a clinical 6-3 win over Connor Scutt.

It was a hugely important win for ‘The Giant’ who is out of form. After reaching the final of the Poland Darts Open, just one match has been won in four tournaments. He pinned 67% of the doubles and averaged 97 in a solid performance. He started as he meant to go on, taking out a massive 141 to send a statement to Scutt. The Englishman kept with him, pinning the bull for a 90 checkout. Three legs later, van Veen whacked 40 points on that checkout with a brilliant 130 outshot. It was the start of a three-leg burst which ended Scutt’s hopes. A 72 checkout in two got van Veen back to winning ways on the Euro Tour.

Last year, Stephen Bunting clinched his first Premier League nightly win title before a few days following it up by breaking his deadlock on the European Tour in this competition. A year later, he is on his way to doing the same thing after averaging 102.54 in one of the best performances of the day against Krzysztof Ratajski, winning 6-2.

An early 13-dart break on tops was the perfect start. He doubled it before keeping the ‘Polish Eagle’ at arm’s length. He produced a 121 checkout moving him two away before almost taking out the 122 on the bull. He cleaned up on double 16 which broke the Ratajski throw and moved him one away. He wasted no time in getting the win under his belt as his title defence continues into Sunday.

The evening began with an absolute cracker. Chris Dobey was hitting 180’s for fun but it was the end of legs he struggled with. That opened the door for Kim Huybrechts to continue his fine form and come out on top 6-5 while averaging 104.66.

The Belgian broke in the first leg and soared even further clear to go 4-1 up. Dobey rallied and got that second break back with an 88 outshot. ‘The Hurricane’ moves one away from reaching the third round the fourth time from five events this year. Dobey made him work for it, utilising the bottom left-hand side of the board to force a last-leg decider. The former Masters champion was throwing for the match but misses match darts proved to be hugely costly. Huybrechts swooped in and dealt out the ultimate punishment as Dobey’s wait for a maiden European Tour title continues.

Dave Chisnall said he would get better after a poor display in the first round against Liam Maendl-Lawrance. He was wrong. An 82.53 average was capitalised on by James Wade who breezed to a 6-0 triumph as ‘Chizzy’ continues to struggle on the oche.

It was an uncharacteristic double eight that saw Wade march ahead by a break advantage. Two legs later, a huge 138 checkout by ‘The Machine’ sealed a 4-0 lead and a lot of work for Chisnall to do. The eight-time Euro Tour champion did not even have a dart at double in the tie. Wade pinned tops before an 82 checkout sealed the deal. Now almost £10,000 away from the World Matchplay qualification spots, it is looking bleak for Chisnall.

Ryan Searle ended a four-game losing streak on the European Tour after getting the better of debutant Charlie Manby 6-3. A number of doubles were missed by the 20-year-old, which was punished by a much more clinical Searle.

Four holds commenced the match before Searle sealed the first break. This was swiftly followed by a brilliant response by ‘Champagne’ with a 67 outshot. He would not win another leg in the match as Searle charged away amid a very bizarre moment in the eighth leg where, due to his well-known poor eyesight, he thought he missed outside on double 20 when in fact he missed inside, almost busting his score before returning to clean up. A clinical 94 checkout in two confirmed a first win on the European Tour since the Belgian Darts Open.

Ryan Joyce was supposed to face four-time champion Gerwyn Price in the second round of the International Darts Open. However, a late withdrawal right before the start to this tournament saw Christian Kist become a very late call-up. ‘Relentless’ was up to the task as he took down the Dutchman 6-2.

Joyce missed 10 darts at a double in an uncharacteristic showing on the outer ring. He had enough scoring power to stay ahead of Kist, who in turn missed 10 doubles of his own. Joyce went 2-0 up but survived not going level as Kist missed at tops. He closed the gap to one, but Joyce cruised from there. While his performance did dip throughout, Joyce won the final three legs with no trouble and set up a showdown against another Dutchman in the form of Jermaine Wattimena.

The night ended with the German number one and home hero and 2024 champion Martin Schindler taking on Matchplay hopeful Karel Sedlacek. It would have huge permutations for the qualifying process with Cameron Menzies the opponent in the third round. It was a very tight finish, but the fans were relieved to see Sedlacek miss a match dart and Schindler squeeze through 6-5.

The crowd were very much behind ‘The Wall,’ and were in delirium after he pinned the bull for a 90 checkout. He utilised the bottom left-hand side of the board brilliantly to spring into a 3-0 lead. Sedlacek would level the score, taking out 108 enroute to getting the scoreboard all square. 'Evil Charlie' then stole a march, breaking the throw to go 5-4 ahead. Schindler came in clutch with a 104 checkout to force a final leg decider. The German had the throw, but it was Sedlacek who had the first chance. He wired double 12 for what would have been a show-stopping 144 checkout as Schindler tidied up 52 to end the second round with a bang.