Strong Gary Anderson to second round as Luke Woodhouse defeats former champion on European Championship debut

Gary Anderson has won a match at the European Championship for the first time since 2015. After a strong match, he defeated Stephen Bunting 6-3 in the first round.

'The Flying Scotsman' last played at the European Championship in 2016. Back then, he lost in the first round, after which he missed as many as seven editions because he did not feel like playing Euro Tour tournaments. This year, Anderson returned for two tournaments on the Euro Tour circuit and by winning one of those tournaments he forced his spot for the European Darts Championship.

After two bad legs from both, Anderson posted a break in the third leg with a 12-darter. Bunting countered with a 12-darter, before Anderson managed another break ahead with another 12-darter. The Scot then held his own leg to take a 4-2 lead. Anderson held on to that break, setting him up for a clash against Michael van Gerwen or Gabriel Clemens in the last sixteen.

Ross Smith had to bid a quick farewell to the European Darts Championship. 'Smudger' was dealt a 6-1 defeat by Luke Woodhouse, causing Smith to lose a chunk of prize money on his ranking.

The 35-year-old Englishman managed to win the 2022 European Darts Championship in surprising fashion by defeating Michael Smith in the final. With this title, he earned 120,000 pounds at the time. Because the world rankings are based on performance over a two-year period, he now had to defend that amount. The loss in the first round thus subtracts 112,500 pounds from his ranking.

It was not until the fifth leg that Smith got on the scoreboard after a 14-darter. Woodhouse then made it 5-1 with a 14-darter. 'The Shed' then finished the job with a 15-darter for the win and a spot in the second round at Smith's expense.