Ryan Searle and
Damon Heta secured a spot in the third round of the
German Darts Championship in Hildesheim, Germany, late Saturday afternoon.
Searle proved the better in the second round against Jonny Clayton. The 36-year-old hit a 130 to take a 4-1 lead after five legs, but Clayton showed resilience and came back to 4-4. With a 15-darter and a 17-darter, 'The Ferret' reduced the deficit to 4-3, before levelling the score with an 11-darter in the eighth leg.
Clayton then got to start the ninth leg, but missed three chances on tops to take over the lead. Searle then threw out 60 to make it 6-4. That ultimately proved to be the neckbreaker for Clayton, as Searle then decided the game with a 78 checkout.
Heta then overcame a poor start in his match against Ritchie Edhouse. The latter managed to take an 0-2 lead at the beginning of the match, but Heta repaired the damage with a 16-darter and a 105 finish.
The Australian then took the lead for the first time in the match with a 16-darter. He then broke Edhouse with a 17-darter, before Heta made it 5-2 with a 17-darter after Edhouse missed one dart on double 18. In the eighth leg, Edhouse missed three more doubles before Heta took the match to his own with a 96 checkout.