Joe Cullen has won the International Darts Open 2020. In the final, the “Rockstar” defeated Michael van Gerwen 8:5 and thus secured his second victory on the European Tour. Cullen took the lead early in the game and kept it until the end. “Michael did not deliver his best game. “I am very happy to have clinched my second title. It is always a pleasure to play in front of an audience.To receive the trophy is of course even bigger”, says the happy winner, who also qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time ever.
Michael van Gerwen on this weekend had more trouble than expected in the previous rounds and was not able to show his best game often enough. In his 100th Pro Tour final MvG was not able to secure his first win in Riesa.
Michael Smith, who had only given up four legs in the whole tournament until his elimination, and Mensur Suljovic, who, as he did last week in Sindelfingen, had to admit defeat to Michael van Gerwen, made it to the semi-finals. Suljovic missed four match darts at 6:5, and in the end Michael van Gerwen checked 140 points to win the match. Suljovic had to survive match darts himself in the quarters, but overcame a close encounter against Krzysztof Ratajski.
The two remaining Germans, Max Hopp and Franz Rötzsch, both dropped out in the afternoon’s round of the last sixteen. Hopp did not find a way into the game against England’s Ross Smith for a long time, his attempts to catch up came a little too late.
Franz Rötzsch, on the other hand, was about to cause the next sensation against Krzysztof Ratajski. Rötzsch was already leading 4:3, played a 105 average for a long time and checked out 121, 127 and 170 points. Ratajski, however, held back – and kept the upper hand in the decisive leg.
Here are all the results once again:
Afternoon session:
Round of the last 16:
Michael van Gerwen 6:5 Andy Hamilton
James Wade 6:2 Nathan Aspinall
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:5 Franz Rötzsch
Mensur Suljovic 6:2 Jamie Hughes
Ross Smith 6:4 Max Hopp
Dave Chisnall 1:6 Joe Cullen
Michael Smith 6:1 Jesus Noguera
Scott Baker 2:6 Danny Noppert
Evening session:
Quarter-finals:
Michael van Gerwen 6:3 James Wade
Krzysztof Ratajski 5:6 Mensur Suljovic
Ross Smith 4:6 Joe Cullen
Michael Smith 6:1 Danny Noppert
Smei-finals:
Michael van Gerwen 7:6 Mensur Suljovic
Joe Cullen 7:3 Michael Smith
Final:
Michael van Gerwen 5:8 Joe Cullen
