Slovak Darts Open Friday afternoon Round-up | Chisnall survives seismic scare against Slovakian qualifier as Doets, Gilding and Joyce all advance

The inaugural Slovak Darts Open commenced this afternoon with some fine darters putting on a show for the passionate Slovakian crowd in the capital city of Bratislava.

It was a crucial one for the players with this being the last European Tour event before the cut-off for qualifying for the World Matchplay. A number of players in action were desperate for wins to get ranking money on the board.

Dave Chisnall headlined the opening session. The eight-time European Tour champion is shell of his former self in seriously bad form. He needs a deep run in Slovakia to give himself a chance of making it to Blackpool. He got the first part right, but in a hugely dramatic match against home favourite Adrian Dukek. He was forced to a last leg decider where Chisnall got over the line 6-5.

It was supposed to be a routine win on paper, but from the off Dudek threatened. He began with a 14-dart break with a 96 checkout in two before missing tops to double his lead. ‘Chizzy’ got level before winning the next three legs in 39 darts to lead 4-1. Dudek was not finished yet, winning a trio of legs and getting the match all square. He made it four in a row in magnificent circumstances. Following two bounce outs on 170, Dudek took out an incredible 150 on double 15 to move one away from the match, Chisnall kept composed and had enough to power back and finished inn style, taking out 104 on tops to survive what would have been one of the biggest upsets in European Tour history to advance.

Karel Sedlacek was someone else who was hopeful of getting a spot in the Matchplay. However, those chances have been dealt a huge blow following a 6-2 defeat to a magnificent Tyler Thorpe. After Sedlacek won the first leg, Thorpe went berserk. He won legs in 15, 14, 13 and 11 darts. The latter was a second break while teasing the crowd for a perfect leg. Following two 180’s, he could not go any further. Sedlacek broke the trend and got another leg on the board, but Thorpe kept his cool and got the job done with a tremendous 103.3 average.

Hope also seemed extinguished for Jeffrey de Graaf. A recent ProTour title got him back in contention, but a 6-3 loss against William O’Connor has hindered those prospects. He began with a 111 checkout enroute to a 2-0 lead. From that point, O’Connor was in command. He won six of the next seven legs on the way to a very commanding win. De Graaf missed key darts with his scoring dipping slightly. It was a missed opportunity as O’Connor ploughs on with his Matchplay debut a certainty.

The session began with Slovenian darter Benjamin Pratnemer completing a thrilling comeback against an underwhelming Justin Hood, winning 6-5. The PDC World Darts Championship quarter-finalist stormed into a 4-1 lead after winning four legs in a row. Pratnemer won four legs on the spin himself and took a 5-4 lead. The doubling was brilliant as Hood forced a last leg decider. Pratnemer took out 86 with his second match dart and let out a jubilant roar after picking up a huge win.

For the first time in two years, Mervyn King was featuring in a European Tour event. Unfortunately, it would not last very long. He waits for his first win since September 2022 as he loses against Andrew Gilding 6-4. It was a remarkably even game. Both players were regularly holding in six visits. This changed as King seized the initiative with a break. Gilding broke straight back as the match looked to be going the distance. King missed three darts to stay in the match as Gilding showed his class with a 68 outshot in two to prevail.

Kevin Doets was a lot more impressive, showing his class with a 102.49 average and 46% on the doubles. He took down Owen Bates 6-3 in a commanding win. Doets broke the throw at the start and the end of the match, winning the last two legs with 23 darts. A, 11-darter was followed by a 12-darter with an 84 checkout ending on double 11. Bates made no impact against the throw, and was punished by an inform ‘Hawkeye.’

Fellow Dutchman had not problem in disposing of Slovakian qualifier Jan Sliacky 6-1. Despite missing a staggering 16 darts at double, Zonneveld did not have much problem in taking out Sliacky who did manage to get a leg on the board with a 76 checkout on tops. Zonneveld only managed to average 80 and was adequate at best on the oche. In the end, he won and will appear in the second round in Bratislava.

Ryan Joyce avoided a big upset against Johan Engstrom. The recent Baltic Sea Darts Open finalist completed a commendable comeback to win 6-3. Engstrom had won just one leg in his prior three European Tour matches. Some clinical finishing bettered that tally after breaking enroute to a 3-1 lead. That three-leg spurt saw Joyce not at his best, but the level would slightly improve as he stormed back ahead. Five legs were won on the spin with some very clinical finishing, characteristic of Joyce. He got the job done on an unfavoured tops to continue his progress.