The ELTEN Safety Shoes International Darts Open at the WT Energiesysteme Arena in Riesa continue to write the German darts fairy tale. Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko battled their way through a nerve-wracking Saturday schedule, with both being part of one of the day’s seven decider matches.
Schindler defies the pressure
With an impressive streak of five consecutive final days on the Winamax PDC European Tour, Martin Schindler is currently cementing his status as the German number 1. However, it was no walk in the park against the Czech Republic’s Karel Sedlacek in the final match of the day: 6-5 was the tight result, in which “The Wall” even survived a match dart against him. Following Wieze, Munich, Sindelfingen, and Graz, Riesa is now the next stop in his powerful run.
Pietreczko keeps the momentum going
Just one day after snapping his eleven-match winless streak, Ricardo Pietreczko followed up in style. Like many players, he had to go the full distance against Danny Noppert. The 6-5 victory over the Dutchman not only secured his spot in the next round but also marked his return to a stage he last reached nearly a year ago at the European Darts Open: the Last 16 of the European Tour. These two successes also boost Germany’s World Cup of Darts ambitions, where the duo of Schindler/Pietreczko will be representing the black, red, and gold colors.
Huybrechts dominates, seven deciders electrify the crowd
The standout performance of the day belonged to Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts. With an average of 104.66 points, he knocked out Chris Dobey in the decider, once again underlining how consistently he is performing on the European Tour right now. In total, seven of Saturday’s 16 matches were only decided in the final leg.
Van Veen, Bunting, and MvG on track
At the top of the seedings, everything went according to plan. Top seed Gian van Veen bounced back after some recent mixed performances on the European Tour with a 6-3 win over Connor Scutt. For the Dutchman, it was his first European Tour victory in around two months. Stephen Bunting picked up right where he left off during his triumph last year, securing a confident 6-2 victory against Krzysztof Ratajski. Also through: Ross Smith, who is the only player to have reached the Last 16 at every single European Tour event so far this year.
End of the road for Manby
The European Tour debut of Charlie Manby came to an end on Saturday against Ryan Searle. The 20-year-old, who had knocked Niko Springer out of the tournament on Friday, had to concede defeat to the Englishman with a score of 4-6. Nevertheless, Manby can leave Riesa with his head held high and is highly likely to be seen more regularly on the big stages in the future.
All Saturday Results
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Bradley Brooks
Damon Heta 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Luke Woodhouse 5-6 Kevin Doets
Danny Noppert 5-6 Ricardo Pietreczko
Ross Smith 6-3 Joe Cullen
Mike De Decker 2-6 Rob Cross
Wessel Nijman 6-5 William O’Connor
Josh Rock 4-6 Cameron Menzies
Chris Dobey 5-6 Kim Huybrechts
James Wade 6-0 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle 6-4 Charlie Manby
Christian Kist 2-6 Ryan Joyce
Gian van Veen 6-3 Connor Scutt
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Madars Razma
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Martin Schindler 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
Sunday Outlook
The champion will be crowned this Sunday at the ELTEN Safety Shoes International Darts Open. The remaining 16 players will clash in the Last 16 – including two Germans, Schindler and Pietreczko, who both have the crowd firmly behind them and possess the potential to make a deep run into the tournament. Meanwhile, heavyweights like van Gerwen, Bunting, Doets, and Huybrechts are waiting in the wings, harboring title ambitions of their own. It promises to be a long, intense final day – and the fans in Riesa can look forward to darts at its absolute finest. If you don’t have a ticket yet, you can secure your spot HERE.
