German Darts Grand Prix: Kyle Anderson and Darren Webster impress on day one but Steve Beaton bows out
Kyle Anderson and Darren Webster were the standout performers on day one of the HappyBet German Darts Grand Prix but last weekend's European Tour runner-up Steve Beaton crashed out.
Click here for our Chris Hammer's betting preview ahead of the weekend's action!
Norwich thrower Webster was in trouble when Ryan Meikle won three legs on the bounce to move 4-2 up in their first-round clash but he replied with successive legs of 11, 12 and 11 darts, including a 132 finish, on his way to a 6-4 triumph.
Webster, who plays Alan Norris in Saturday's second round, was one of four players to post an average of over 100 in Mannheim on Friday - but the only other who backed it up with a victory was the in-form Aussie Kyle Anderson.
The Auckland Darts Masters champion averaged 101.44 and hit over 50% of his doubles in a 6-4 victory over the high-scoring Dutch youngster Dirk van Duijvenbode, who pushed him hard with a three-figure average of his own.
Anderson is chasing his third title inside six weeks having also claimed a maiden Players Championship crown at the start of August but he faces a tough opponent next in Kim Huybrechts.
Robert Owen's average of 103.23 was the highest of the day - helped by hitting 66.67% of his doubles - but his Polish opponent Krzysztof Ratajski defied his scoring power to claim a 6-4 triumph and a second-round meeting with Gerwyn Price.
Last weekend's Dutch Darts Masters runner-up Beaton, who saw his fine run ended by world number one Michael van Gerwen, crashed out at the first hurdle as Jamie Bain ran out a 6-4 winner to set up a clash with Jelle Klaasen.
Richard North will now face odds-on tournament favourite van Gerwen following a 6-3 success against Mick Todd while Ronny Huybrechts kept alive his hopes of challenging for a World Grand Prix spot with a 6-3 win over Austria's Zoran Lerchbacher. The Belgian now takes on UK Open champion Peter Wright in the second round.
Our darts expert Chris Hammer's 16/1 tip Daryl Gurney will face Keegan Brown in Saturday's second round after the former World Youth champion reeled off five straight legs from 2-1 down to defeat James Richardson.
Elsewhere Jamie Caven marked his first European Tour appearance of the season wit ha 6-4 victory over home favourite Max Hopp but he'll be underdog to see off Benito van de Pas on Saturday.
Below are all the day's results and the schedule for Saturday's second-round, when the seeded players such as van Gerwen, Wright, Mensur Suljovic and Gurney enter the fray.
German Darts Grand Prix: Day one results
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Afternoon Session
Paul Rowley 6-3 Tony Martinez
Jamie Caven 6-4 Max Hopp
Jan Dekker 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Michael Plooy 4-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Mick Todd 3-6 Richard North
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Bernd Roith
Darren Webster 6-5 Ryan Meikle
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Zoran Lerchbacher
Evening Session
Michael Hurtz 1-6 Daniel Larsson
Jamie Lewis 6-5 Andy Boulton
James Richardson 2-6 Keegan Brown
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Robert Owen
Jamie Bain 6-4 Steve Beaton
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-6 Kyle Anderson
Martin Schindler 3-6 Mick McGowan
German Darts Grand Prix: Day two schedule
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday September 9
SECOND ROUND
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Ian White v Jermaine Wattimena
Joe Cullen v Paul Rowley
Benito van de Pas v Jamie Caven
Rob Cross v Jan Dekker
Dave Chisnall v Nathan Aspinall
Mervyn King v Vincent van der Voort
Gerwyn Price v Krzysztof Ratajski
Jelle Klaasen v Jamie Bain
Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Alan Norris v Darren Webster
Kim Huybrechts v Kyle Anderson
Mensur Suljovic v Mick McGowan
Peter Wright v Ronny Huybrechts
Michael van Gerwen v Richard North
Daryl Gurney v Keegan Brown
Michael Smith v Jamie Lewis
Simon Whitlock v Daniel Larsson
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