In front of a packed Papp László Sportaréna in Budapest the second day of the 2021 Hungarian Darts Trophy got underway.
The 16 second round matches on Saturday were opened in the afternoon by former World Champion Rob Cross and “Smudger” Ross Smith. Both players struggled at first, especially Cross struggled to find the trebles. Nevertheless “Voltage” in the end won by 6:4 with an average of almost 95.
The second match continued the many surprises of Friday`s first round action when Welshman Lewis Williams met the “Polish Eagle” Krzysztof Ratajski. The youngster Williams turned a 0:3 deficit into a 6:3 win and thus qualified for the last 16.
Afterwards, Scotland’s Alan Soutar could not follow up his performance of the previous day and lost clearly by 1:6 to the strong Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan. The “History Maker” hit 60% of his doubles.
In the fourth match of the afternoon world number 4 James Wade prevailed against Irishman William O`Connor. In a real battle in which both players averaged around 99 “The Machine” won the decider. Both players will represent their nations next week in Jena at the World Cup of Darts.
The next thriller followed immediately when William Borland defeated Austrian Mensur Suljovic. After an intermediate 5:1 lead for the young Borland, Suljovic could still force the decider but lost the final leg.
The crowd in the Papp László Sportaréna saw the first 100+ average of the second round in the sixth match of the afternoon when Luke Humphries defeated South African Devon Petersen comfortably by 6:2. The Englishman will meet James Wade in the last 16.
Keane Barry provided the next upset of the weekend. The youngster defeated Dutchman Dirk van Dujivenbode surprisingly by 6:3 and averaged eleven points more than his opponent on his way to victory.
Luke Humphries’ 101 average was not the last above the magic 100 mark in this session. Nathan Aspinall also averaged 101 and hit 75% on his doubles. In the end he booked his ticket to round 3 with a 6:1 win over Bradley Brooks.
The evening session started with a real thriller that brought the audience to their feet. The 19-year-old Czech Adam Gawlas caused the upset of the day when he defeated Premier League Champion Jonny Clayton by 6:5. The celebrated Czech will play Lewis Williams tomorrow.
The second match of the evening was won by “Rockstar” Joe Cullen. The number 1 seed Cullen defeated the Belgian Geert de Vos by 6:3 with a 100 average. On Sunday his compatriot Rob Cross will be waiting in the third round.
Two Australians and World Cup partners played each other in the third match of the evening session. Damon Heta defeated “The Wizard” Simon Whitlock by 6:4. Heta averaged 96 along the way.
“The Special One” José de Sousa took to the stage next. After a weak start, the Portuguese found the next gear and fulfilled his role as favourite. In the end, he defeated England’s Joe Murnan by 6:3. Nathan Aspinall will try to get revenge for losing the Premier League semi-final when the two meet in the last 16 tomorrow.
A brilliant game with iconic walk-ons followed as Michael van Gerwen met Daryl Gurney. Both scored well and averaged 101 but in the end three-time World Champion van Gerwen prevailed by 6:4. In the last 16 the Dutchman will meet Brendan Dolan.
In the sixth match of the evening Dutchman Richard Veenstra had to play the current World Champion and world number 1 Gerwyn Price. “The Iceman” struggled at the beginning but out of nowhere almost hit one of the most spectacular 9-darters in history. After eight perfect darts Price turned around to give the fans a little taunt. The ninth dart on D12 missed its target but Price eventually won by 6:4.
The fans at the Papp László Sportaréna were kept in high spirits in the penultimate match of the evening as well – by none other than “Snakebite” Peter Wright. The Scot eliminated the only German participant of the tournament Florian Hempel by 6:3 to the delight of the Hungarian crowd. Wright will play William Borland in round 3.
The last match of a fantastic second round day was contested by “Bully Boy” Michael Smith and Greek John Michael. Smith lived up to his name, checking 124 on the bull and averaging 101 on his way to a commanding 6:3 win. In the next round the Englishman will meet Keane Barry.
The Hungarian Darts Trophy will continue on Sunday afternoon (1200 BST) with eight third round matches and will find its conclusion in the Sunday evening session (1800 BST) when the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will be played.
Saturday, September 4th
Round 2
Afternoon Session
Rob Cross 6-4 Ross Smith
Krzysztof Ratajski 3-6 Lewis Williams
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Alan Soutar
James Wade 6-5 William O’Connor
Mensur Suljovic 5-6 William Borland
Devon Petersen 2-6 Luke Humphries
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-6 Keane Barry
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Bradley Brooks
Evening Session
Jonny Clayton 5-6 Adam Gawlas
Joe Cullen 6-3 Geert De Vos
Damon Heta 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Jose de Sousa 6-3 Joe Murnan
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Richard Veenstra
Peter Wright 6-3 Florian Hempel
Michael Smith 6-3 John Michael
Sunday, September 5
Afternoon Session (1200 BST)
Last 16
Joe Cullen v Rob Cross
James Wade v Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan
Gerwyn Price v Damon Heta
José de Sousa v Nathan Aspinall
Adam Gawlas v Lewis Williams
Peter Wright v William Borland
Michael Smith v Keane Barry
