Noppert survives scare from 18-year-old Maendl-Lawrance as Heta solid in Dolan win

With a very hard-fought win over Liam Maendl-Lawrance, Danny Noppert qualified for the third round at the International Darts Open on Saturday afternoon.

With finishes from 87, 76 and 149, Noppert grabbed a 5-2 lead and there seemed nothing to worry about for 'The Freeze' However, he then missed six match darts for a 6-2 victory, after which Maendl-Lawrance managed to come back to 5-5 with his slow and methodical style.

The German crowd went full throttle for a moment and cheered up when Noppert opened with a 26-score in the final leg. His German opponent barely took advantage, however, after which Noppert managed to throw in scores of 121, 140 and 174. Yet Maendl-Lawrance had one chance to win from 108, but he missed double 16. Noppert then took advantage of his ninth matchdart.

In the second match of the afternoon, Damon Heta managed to win against Brendan Dolan in a solid display averaging 97.8 with two 180's and a high checkout of 152 en route.