The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsMichael Smith became the first winner on the European Tour that wasn’t Michael van Gerwen in the fifth event in Riesa, scooping the £25,000 winners prize, beating Benito van de Pas 6-3 in the final. Here is a roundup of the final day’s action in Riesa.
Afternoon Session:
Michael Smith kicked off the afternoon’s last sixteen ties with a solid 6-3 win over Steve Beaton. The number three seed hit five 180s in a convincing win over the former Lakeside Champion, who was just 27% on the doubles.
The second match of the afternoon between Terry Jenkins and Rowby-John Rodruguez was tightly poised at 2-2 after four legs, but Jenkins raced away to win the match 6-2 to progress to the quarter-finals.
Ian White booked his place in the last eight with a 6-4 win over Robert Thornton to reach the European Tour quarter-finals for the first time in over a year with a 103 average.
Stephen Bunting won a dramatic last-leg decider to make it through to the quarter-finals against Peter Wright, who once again averaged over 100 but ‘The Bullet’ averaged 104.11 to win the match.
Dave Chisnall played superbly in a fantastic 6-2 win over Brendan Dolan. The Premier League semi-finalist hit four 180s, averaged 105 and was 75% on the doubles in a great last sixteen performance.
Daryl Gurney missed crucial doubles in 6-4 defeat to Kim Huybrechts, who capitalised on his trouble on the doubles to close out a solid win to set up a mouthwatering quarter-final tie with Dave Chisnall.
Justin Pipe played marvellously in a 6-2 win over home favourite Max Hopp, knocking the German out of the tournament at the last sixteen stage, and keeping his hopes alive of winning in Riesa after making the final in Venray.
Michael van Gerwen’s unbeaten record in 2015 on the European Tour came to an end as he wasn’t at his best, losing in the last sixteen to Benito van de Pas 6-4, who took out 158 in the fourth leg on the way.
Afternoon Session Results:
Michael Smith 6-3 Steve Beaton
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Ian White 6-3 Robert Thornton
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Peter Wright
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Justin Pipe 6-2 Max Hopp
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Evening Session:
Michael Smith came up against Terry Jenkins in the first quarter-final, who was somewhat inconsistent during the quarter-final tie. Smith ended up the eventual winner, winning the last-leg decider after Jenkins missed two match darts to make the last four.
Ian White continued his excellent form with a 6-5 win over St Helens ace Stephen Bunting. ‘The Diamond’ took out successive 120 checkouts, before Bunting hit successive 11-darters to take it to a last-leg decider, which Ian White won.
‘The Hurricane’ Kim Huybrechts booked his place in the semi-finals after beating fellow Premier League star and good friend Dave Chisnall, who averaged 97.7 and hit four 180s, but still lost the match 6-4.
Benito van de Pas, who beat Michael van Gerwen earlier on in the day, progressed to the semi-finals with a 6-4 win over Justin Pipe. van de Pas led 4-1 and 5-2, but Pipe fought back to 5-4 before the Dutchman closed out the match to win 6-4.
Ian White was inconsistent as he was dumped out of the competition in the semi-finals by Michael Smith, who won the match 6-3, taking out 120 with S20 BULL BULL to book his place in the final.
Kim Huybrechts was the next to be eliminated from the competition as he fell apart in the second semi-final. He led 3-2, but ended up losing the encounter 6-3 to Benito van de Pas, who marched on into the final where he would face Michael Smith.
The match was even at 2-2 in the final before Smith reeled off three consecutive legs before wasting seven match darts in the eight leg. However, he sealed the victory in the ninth leg to claim a 6-3 win and the £25,000 winners prize.
Evening Session Results:
Michael Smith 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Ian White 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Justin Pipe
Michael Smith 6-3 Ian White
Benito van de Pas 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Michael Smith 6-3 Benito van de Pas
