Michael Smith Knocked Out In Innsbruck As Barney Makes It Through To Finals Day

Alan Norris shocked Michael Smith on Day Two of the European Darts Matchplay to knock the number two seed out of the competition. Michael van Gerwen made his way through, and as did Raymond van Barneveld, and the two will face off in the third round on Sunday.

The afternoon session was opened up with Benito van de Pas securing a 6-4 win over Robert Marijanovic. The Croatian took a 3-1 lead early on, taking out 170 in the process. However, he missed a bucket load of doubles in the rest of the match as van de Pas secured a victory.

Justin Pipe booked his place in the third round in the second match of the afternoon. It was two 170 checkouts in two matches as Pipe landed the maximum finish in the process of seeing off Tony Newell 6-5.

Premier League star Dave Chisnall was the third man through to finals day in Austria, recording a 6-3 victory over William O’Connor. ‘Chizzy’ averaged just under 100 in the win as he knocked the Irishman out of the competition.

Terry Jenkins won through a high-quality contest, beating ‘The Artist’ Kevin Painter in a last-leg decider. The pair averaged 97 and 95 respectively as Painter spurned a 4-3 lead after taking early checkouts of 167 and 104.

Brendan Dolan booked his place in the third round following a last-leg victory over Mark Walsh. Dolan didn’t have a dart at a double in the opening four legs as Walsh raced into a 4-0 lead. However, the Northern Irishman produced a fantastic comeback to win the match with an averaged of just 82.

Robert Thornton recorded a 6-3 victory over Maik Langendorf, who proved difficult to dispatch for the Scot. ‘The Thorn’ found himself 3-1 up, but the European Qualifier pulled it back to 3-3 before Thornton secured victory with a 127 checkout.

Kim Huybrechts raced into a 4-0 lead against Darren Webster in next to no time, and wasted no time in closing out the match for a 6-2 victory, averaging 101 in the process to move into the third round of the competition.

Number four seed Ian White rounded off the afternoon session by seeing off Dimitri van der Bergh with a 6-4 victory. Van der Bergh broke ‘The Diamond’s’ throw with a superb 121 checkout only to be broken straight back with a 108 finish before White went on to secure victory.

Mervyn King was the first man to book his ticket through to finals day in the evening session with a solid 6-4 victory over Mickey Mansell. The former Premier League man saw off the World Cup star with a solid 91 average.

Alan Norris stunned Michael Smith in the second match of the evening as he knocked ‘Bullyboy’ out in a last-leg decider. Smith won last week’s European Tour event in Mulheim but crashed out of the competition in the second round here as Norris averaged a solid 95 to knock out the number two seed.

Peter Wright wasn’t at his best when he took to the stage in Innsbruck, but managed to book his place in the next round nevertheless. He averaged just 84 in a 6-2 win over Darren Johnson to set up a third round tie with Benito van de Pas.

Rowby-John Rodriguez had his home crowd fully behind him in his 6-3 victory over Simon Whitlock, and they will be behind him once again on Sunday. The youngster took advantage of Whitlock’s missed doubles and will meet Mervyn King in the next round.

David Pallett knocked Jamie Caven out of the competition with an excellent performance on Friday in the first round, and played superbly again, averaging 104 to knock out seed Jelle Klaasen to set up a tie with Alan Norris.

Andy Hamilton was far from his best in his match again Vincent van der Voort, and the Dutchman took full advantage to win the match and will come up against Brendan Dolan in the third round of the competition.

Stephen Bunting and Raymond van Barneveld played out a high-quality contest in the penultimate match of the day, where both averaged over 100. It was Barney who marched in into the next round with a 6-2 victory.

Michael van Gerwen set up a third round tie with the winner of the previous match, which was Barney in what will be an all-Dutch affair after he beat Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 to round of Saturday’s action.