European Darts Trophy: Jelle Klaasen beats Peter Wright
Jelle Klaasen beat Peter Wright for the first time in over five years to dump the world number two out of the European Darts Trophy as the Dutchman made the Last 16.
Klaasen - who became a father for the second time earlier in the week - defeated Wright 6-3 to end a 12-game losing run against the Scot and seal his place in this month's Unibet European Championship in Dortmund.
The Dutchman raced into a 4-1 lead before Wright rallied to reduce the deficit to 5-3, but it was to be Klaasen's night as the former World Championship semi-finalist pinned double top for his biggest win of a tough 2018.
"It's a great feeling for me because Peter has beaten me so many times before," said Klaasen, who will take on Martin Schindler in Sunday's third round.
"I always miss doubles against him and give him chances but this time I took my own chances and that was the difference tonight.
"It's going to take a while to get back to my best, but I'm feeling good and my confidence is coming back."
German crowd favourite Schindler, who guaranteed qualification for European Championship with win over Luke Woodhouse on Friday, raised the roof at the Lokhalle with a stunning 6-0 demolition of Mervyn King.
Schindler's World Cup of Darts partner Max Hopp ensured there would be two German players competing in the final day of action thanks to a 6-5 win over Krzysztof Ratajski.
German number one Hopp endured a nervy end to his match with a determined Ratajski, but Hopp eventually found the winning double at the seventh attempt to set up a tie with World Champion Rob Cross, who produced a classy 124 finish on the bullseye to see off Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4.
World number one Michael van Gerwen began his charge for an eight European Tour title of the year with a 6-2 triumph over fellow-Dutchman Vincent van der Voort, and he will now take on Stephen Bunting.
Top performer of the second day, Bunting was firing on all cylinders as he struck five 180s and produced a 103.1 average to power his way past Mickey Mansell 6-2.
Steve Beaton over-turned his defeat to Gerwyn Price at the World Grand Prix with a tension-filled 6-5 victory over the Welshman.
For the second game in succession, Beaton survived a match-dart before finding the winning double with his last dart in hand to book a meeting with fifth seed Michael Smith, who proved too strong for Finland's Marko Kantele and ran out a convincing 6-1 winner.
James Wade, who joined Klaasen in celebrating the birth of a baby boy this week as he became a father for the first time, struck three ton-plus finishes in his 6-4 win over Toni Alcinas, including a match-winning 121 to defy the Spaniard's fightback.
Wade will now play Darren Webster, whose ruthless display saw him miss just one dart at double in his 6-3 win over Ricky Evans.
World number five Daryl Gurney ended Luke Humphries' European Championship hopes with a 6-3 win and he will now face Matt Edgar, who edged past Joe Cullen 6-5.
Dave Chisnall survived two match-darts and found double top with his last dart in hand to seal a narrow 6-5 victory over Ryan Joyce and he will now meet John Henderson, whose five maximums helped him claim a 6-4 victory over Dutch Darts Championship winner Ian White.
Richard North moved a step closer to a Dortmund appearance with a 6-4 triumph over International Darts Open finalist Simon Whitlock, and he will face Austrian Darts Open champion Jonny Clayton, who missed just two darts at double in his 6-2 defeat of Germany's Gabriel Clemens.
Today's results also saw Kyle Anderson and Cristo Reyes confirm their places at the European Championship.
Sunday will see the last 16 ties played in the afternoon session before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening, with coverage to be streamed from 1pm and 7.15pm local time.
Daily schedule & results
Friday October 12
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)
- Luke Humphries 6-4 Keegan Brown
- Matthew Edgar 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
- Mickey Mansell 6-2 George Killington
- John Henderson 6-5 Mark Wilson
- Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Brendan Dolan
- Marko Kantele 6-3 Robert Marijanovic
- Ryan Joyce 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena
- Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Steve West
Evening Session (6.15pm BST)
- Richard North 6-3 Christian Buns
- Ricky Evans 6-1 Andrew Gilding
- Martin Schindler 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
- Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Simon Stevenson
- Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Maik Langendorf
- Steve Beaton 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
- Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Steffen Siepmann
- Toni Alcinas 6-5 Danny Noppert
Saturday October 13
Second Round (Best of 11 legs)
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)
- Matthew Edgar 6-5 Joe Cullen
- Michael Smith 6-1 Marko Kantele
- Dave Chisnall 6-5 Ryan Joyce
- Stephen Bunting 6-2 Mickey Mansell
- Daryl Gurney 6-3 Luke Humphries
- Richard North 6-4 Simon Whitlock
- John Henderson 6-4 Ian White
- Jonny Clayton 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
- Martin Schindler 6-0 Mervyn King
- Steve Beaton 6-5 Gerwyn Price
- Darren Webster 6-3 Ricky Evans
- Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
- Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Peter Wright
- James Wade 6-4 Toni Alcinas
- Max Hopp 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Rob Cross 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Sunday October 14
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)
Third Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Played in draw bracket order
Evening Session (6.15pm BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 legs)
- Played in draw bracket order
Semi-Finals (Best of 13 legs)
- Played in draw bracket order
Final (Best of 15 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
European Darts Trophy: Sky Bet odds
Click here for Sky Bet's darts page
Where can I watch the European Darts Trophy on TV?
This event is not being screened live on TV in the UK but, along with all the other PDC European Tour events, you can watch the event unfold if you are a PDCTV-HD Subscriber. Head to the PDC website for more details
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