Going into Saturday's action, only Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko and Rene Eidams remain for the home fans to get behind at the European Darts Open with two of Germany's main hopes falling by the wayside in quick succession.
Gabriel Clemens was facing off against a resurgent Ian White who showed off his credentials for a return to the top in sheer grit and determination in Leverkusen.
He pulled off a sensational comeback coming from 4-1 and 5-2 down to stun Clemens with a 98.7 average and a high checkout of 161 to silence the crowd and move into Saturday's action. It was sealed in style with an 11-darter in the form of an 81 checkout also.
While Florian Hempel who is well known for his darts towel was given a 'towelling' by James Wade on Friday evening with a 6-1 defeat for the Cologne native.
It was the usual routine display from Wade who hit 75% on the doubles and a 95.5 average to storm through to tomorrow and dump out another home hope.
The final game did not include a German as Stephen Bunting saw off Daryl Gurney in a tense deciding leg win to conclude the first round and Friday's action.
Throwing for the win, Bunting hit a 140 and then followed it with a 180 and 134 to leave 47 with Gurney unable to pressure and despite multiple match darts, 'Superchin' could not pressure and Bunting finally fell over the line to set up a clash with Ryan Searle tomorrow.
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