The UK Open continues on Saturday, as the fifth round (last 32) gets underway; Michael van Gerwen is looking to defend his title, having defeated Gerwyn Price in the 2020 decider
Saturday 6 March 2021 00:11, UK
Lisa Ashton produced a women's world record average while Peter Wright and Gary Anderson were among the high-profile casualties on day one of the UK Open, which also saw Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price progress as Raymond van Barneveld suffered defeat in his televised return.
The major competition, often dubbed 'The FA Cup of Darts' due to an open draw taking place at the end of each round, is taking place behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
The big guns - specifically the top 32 in the PDC Order of Merit - entered the fray on Friday evening, receiving byes into the fourth round.
In the final contest of the night, former world champion Snakebite was beaten 10-5 by a rampant Dave Chisnall, who finished the game with a ton average to reach the last 32.
Anderson had found himself on the wrong end of a thriller as he lost 10-9 to Dirk van Duijvenbode after the Dutchman survived two match darts to seal the win in a last-leg decider.
Van Gerwen came from 8-7 down to overcome Scott Mitchell 10-8 in a less-than-stellar performance, while his successor in the world No 1 slot Price coasted to a 10-5 win over Peter Hudson.
One of the matches of the evening session came courtesy of Michael Smith and Joe Cullen, the former - having found himself 5-1 down - edging it 10-9 with an 11-dart deciding leg after his opponent had missed double 10 for a 128 checkout to clinch the victory.
Former UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall was beaten 10-5 by Krzysztof Ratajski despite a 101.7 average, and Premier League champion Glen Durrant saw his tournament end prematurely at the hands of a 10-6 loss to Danny Noppert.
On the back of winning his first senior PDC ranking title in Bolton last week, Callan Rydz prevailed 10-6 against Jermaine Wattimena, Ryan Searle recorded a 103.5 average en route to a 10-7 win over Adrian Lewis, and James Wade required a 102.4 average to see off Ryan Joyce 10-9.
There was also a dream debut for 22-year-old John Brown, who beat Mark McGeeney 10-6 in round four as the last player standing from those that started in round one.
Luke Woodhouse meanwhile sent Dimitri van den Bergh packing with a 10-5 win over the reigning World Matchplay champion.
Ashton made a stunning start to the competition, defeating Aaron Beeney 6-2 in the second round.
'The Lancashire Rose' averaged 100 in the triumph, in what was her first televised win since she won her PDC Tour Card last year.
She became the first woman to win at the UK Open since Deta Hedman in 2005, while her average of 100.30 was a world record for a female player.
The win saw Ashton progress to the third round, but she fell to Darius Labanauskas on a 6-2 scoreline.
Barney, fresh from his first PDC ranking title since 2013 last week, failed to mark his televised return with a win.
The five-time world champ fell to a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the in-form Alan Soutar, who went on to beat Stephen Bunting 10-5 later that evening.
Damon Heta suffered a shock defeat at the hands of David Evans, with the Australian star getting defeated 6-1.
Recent Q-School graduates Danny Baggish and Kirk Shepherd were defeated in the second round, while Keane Barry and Jelle Klaasen were among those to bow out in the next stage.
17-year-old Sebastian Bialecki announced himself in style early in the day. The 17-year-old, who was not even born when the inaugural UK Open took place in 2003, recorded the perfect leg during a 6-2 first-round win over Scotland's Jim McEwan.
However, Bialecki was then given a taste of his own medicine, as Jitse van der Wal hit 'the nine' against him in the following game.
Bialecki and Van der Wal become just the sixth and seventh players to have hit nine-darters at the UK Open, joining Phil Taylor, Mervyn King, Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton in an elite club.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT start):
Main stage
Rob Cross v James Wade
Gerwyn Price v Ricky Evans
Michael Smith v Jose De Sousa
Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic
Stage Two
Darius Labanauskas v Simon Whitlock
Daryl Gurney v Gabriel Clemens
Chris Dobey v John Brown
Jonny Clayton v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Stage Three
Luke Humphries v Ryan Searle
Callan Rydz v Martin Kleermaker
Alan Souter v Ron Meulenkamp
Luke Woodhouse v Brendan Dolan
Stage Four
Peter Jacques v Max Hopp
Scott Waites v Devon Petersen
Krzysztof Ratajski v Madars Razma
Dave Chisnall v Danny Noppert
Evening Session
Fourth Round
Daryl Gurney 10-8 Jason Lowe
Ryan Searle 10-7 Adrian Lewis
Max Hopp 10-6 Vincent van der Voort
John Brown 10-6 Mark McGeeney
Callan Rydz 10-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Jonny Clayton 10-7 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Darius Labanauskas 10-5 Darren Webster
Michael Smith 10-9 Joe Cullen
James Wade 10-9 Ryan Joyce
Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Scott Mitchell
Gerwyn Price 10-5 Peter Hudson
Ricky Evans 10- 7 Ian White
Alan Soutar 10-5 Stephen Bunting
Brendan Dolan 10-7 Kai Fan Leung
Dave Chisnall 10-5 Peter Wright
Rob Cross 10-8 Andy Hamilton
Martijn Kleermaker 10-8 Jamie Hughes
Simon Whitlock 10-7 Karel Sedlacek
Krzysztof Ratajski 10-5 Nathan Aspinall
Dirk van Duijvenbode 10-9 Gary Anderson
Devon Petersen 10-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Luke Woodhouse 10-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Peter Jacques 10-9 Andy Boulton
Mensur Suljovic 10-6 Sebastian Bialecki
Gabriel Clemens 10-4 Adam Hunt
José de Sousa 10-9 Mervyn King
Ron Meulenkamp 10-7 Steve Lennon
Madars Razma 10-6 David Evans
Scott Waites 10-6 Keegan Brown
Chris Dobey 10-6 John Henderson
Danny Noppert 10-6 Glen Durrant
Luke Humphries 10-8 Kim Huybrechts
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Max Hopp 6-3 William O'Connor
David Evans 6-1 Damon Heta
Alan Soutar 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Mark McGeeney 6-5 Steve Beaton
Callan Rydz 6-5 Ross Smith
Darius Labanauskas 6-2 Lisa Ashton
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Krzysztof Kciuk
Keegan Brown 6-1 James Wilson
Scott Waites 6-4 Martin Atkins
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Keane Barry
Adam Hunt 6-0 Scott Taylor
Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 Eddie Lovely
Kai Fan Leung 6-5 Nick Kenny
Madars Razma 6-2 Jim Williams
Jason Lowe 6-1 Steve West
Andy Boulton 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Steve Lennon 6-4 Kevin Doets
Karel Sedlacek 6-0 Rhys Griffin
Peter Jacques 6-1 Ciaran Teehan
John Henderson 6-5 Matt Edgar
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Gary Blades
Martijn Kleermaker 6-5 Martin Schindler
John Brown 6-3 Chas Barstow
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Maik Kuivenhoven
Peter Hudson 6-1 Gino Vos
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-5 Josh Payne
Darren Webster 6-4 Ted Evetts
Ryan Searle 6-5 Jack Main
Scott Mitchell 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Derk Telnekes
Byes: Ryan Joyce, Luke Humphries
Second Round
Lisa Ashton 6-2 Aaron Beeney
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Alan Soutar 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Keane Barry v Geert Nentjes
Martin Atkins 6-3 Bradley Brooks
Martijn Kleermaker 6-3 Wayne Jones
Scott Mitchell 6-5 Lewis Williams
Ciaran Teehan 6-5 Danny Baggish
Nick Kenny 6-5 Ryan Meikle
Martin Schindler 6-1 Jeff Smith
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Damian Mol
Jim Williams 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Peter Jacques 6-2 Michael Rasztovits
Peter Hudson 6-1 Jesus Noguera
Scott Waites Bye (Steve Brown timed out)
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-3 Kevin McDine
David Evans 6-4 Steffen Siepmann
Derk Telnekes 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Gino Vos 6-5 Alan Tabern
Kai Fan Leung 6-3 Joe Murnan
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Jon Worsley
Jack Main 6-4 Robert Collins
Rhys Griffin 6-4 Mike De Decker
Scott Taylor 6-5 Maikel Verberk
Karel Sedlacek 6-0 Harald Leitinger
Gary Blades 6-0 Dom Taylor
John Brown 6-5 Nathan Rafferty
Chas Barstow 6-1 Martin Thomas
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-2 Ryan Murray
Kevin Doets 6-4 William Borland
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Jitse van der Wal
Eddie Lovely 6-5 Jason Heaver
First Round
Martin Schindler 6-5 Berry van Peer
Danny Baggish 6-3 Brett Claydon
Kirk Shepherd 6-3 Gordon Mathers
Boris Koltsov 6-1 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Jim Williams 6-5 Zoran Lerchbacher
Geert Nentjes 6-5 Richie Burnett
Rhys Griffin 6-5 Sean Fisher
Nathan Rafferty 6-3 Matt Jackson
Kevin McDine 6-5 Keelan Kay
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-4 Brian Raman
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Geert De Vos
Maikel Verberk 6-4 Martin Lukeman
Scott Taylor 6-4 John Michael
Jack Main 6-2 Shane McGuirk
Jason Heaver 6-2 Lorenzo Pronk
Lewis Williams 6-3 Luc Peters
Sebastian Bialecki 6-2 Jim McEwan
Chas Barstow 6-4 Lukas Wenig
Joe Murnan 6-2 Matthew Dennant
Kevin Doets 6-3 Joe Davis
Gino Vos 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Damian Mol 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Dom Taylor 6-5 Jake Jones
Peter Hudson 6-1 Ryan De Vreede
John Brown 6-3 Gavin Carlin
Byes: Robert Collins, David Evans, Andrew Gilding, Michael Rasztovits, Martin Thomas, Scott Mitchell, Jitse van der Wal.
Watch live coverage of the 2021 Premier League on Sky Sports - the action gets under way on Monday April 5 with five consecutive nights of action from the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
