Ross Smith again caused quite a stir on the second day of the International Darts Open. “Smudger” managed to eliminate defending champion Gerwyn Price by 6:5 legs. Price was already leading 4:0 and 5:4, but could not take the decisive step to victory.
Smith will meet Max Hopp in the round of the last 16, who defeated the winner of the last European Tour event in Sindelfingen, Jose de Sousa. 6:3 was the final score to Hopp, who for a long time even had an average of over 110 points.
The biggest surprise of the day came from the German qualifier Franz Roetzsch, who eliminated Rob Cross, a former world champion. The “Destroyer” defeated Cross with 6:3 and played a 103 average. Roetzsch will meet Krzysztof Ratajski in tomorrow’s afternoon session.
However, the evening session was characterised by many close duels. Mensur Suljovic, for example, survived a high-class contest with Gabriel Clemens after he almost gave away a 5:2 lead. Suljovic kept his nerve in the decider, Clemens again was not able to move into the last sixteen at a European Tour event.
With Michael van Gerwen, Dave Chisnall, James Wade and Nathan Aspinall, several top 10 players have also qualified for the final day. Daryl Gurney and Ian White, however, were eliminated early.
Here are all the results again:
Afternoon session:
Jamie Hughes 6:4 Steve West
Adrian Lewis 3:6 Danny Noppert
Michael Smith 6:2 Martin Schindler
Joe Cullen 6:1 Robert Marijanovic
Daryl Gurney 3:6 Scott Baker
Dave Chisnall 6:3 Ron Meulenkamp
James Wade 6:3 Andreas Harrysson
Rob Cross 3:6 Franz Roetzsch
Evening session:
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:4 Martijn Kleermaker
Stephen Bunting 5:6 Andy Hamilton
Nathan Aspinall 6:5 Jason Lowe
Mensur Suljovic 6:5 Gabriel Clemens
Michael van Gerwen 6:4 Madars Razma
Gerwyn Price 5:6 Ross Smith
Jose de Sousa 3:6 Max Hopp
Ian White 3:6 Jesus Noguera
This results in the following round of the last 16, which will be played on Sunday:
Michael van Gerwen : Andy Hamilton
James Wade : Nathan Aspinall
Krzysztof Ratajski : Franz Rötzsch
Mensur Suljovic : Jamie Hughes
Ross Smith : Max Hopp
Dave Chisnall : Joe Cullen
Jesus Noguera : Michael Smith
Scott Baker : Danny Noppert
