Soutar withstands late Mioch fightback as Lennon wins battle of missed darts to begin International Darts Open

Alan Soutar and Steve Lennon are the first two winners in the first round of the International Darts Open in Riesa.

Soutar survived a late fightback from Jeroen Mioch to move through 6-4. The Scot got off to an excellent start on the doubles and won his first five legs without missing a dart at double. The score was then 5-1 for Soutar. Mioch came back to 5-4, after which Soutar finally used his sixth matchdart for a spot in the last 32.

Where there was good doubling in the first game, things went quite wrong with the finishing in the second game. Andy Boulton wasted thirteen darts on the doubles, his opponent Lennon even eighteen. However, the Irishman scored better than his opponent and won the game 6-4.