Jelle Klaasen has some sound advice for the rest of the PDC Home Tour

Darts results: Jelle Klaasen tops Group Seven of the PDC Home Tour and hits back at cheating claims

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Fri April 24, 2020 · 5y ago

Jelle Klaasen took top spot in his PDC Home Tour group on Thursday night but had to defend himself against allegations of cheating after controversy surrounded his pivotal victory over Gabriel Clemens.

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The 2006 BDO world champion was second favourite to progress on the seventh night of this inaugural groundbreaking tournament behind rising German star Clemens and the pair ensured their encounter would be even more crucial after they both won their opening matches.

The world number 38, playing in Saarwellingen, saw off Ryan Meikle 5-3 before Klaasen, ranked 48, before defeating Northern Ireland's Gavin Carlin 5-2.

After Meikle put himself in contention with a 5-1 triumph over Carlin, Klaasen took pole position by defeating Clemens 5-3 in a see-saw contest.

Both men enjoyed three-leg streaks, Klaasen roaring into a 3-0 lead only for the German to cancel it out with the help of a 132 checkout on the bullseye and a 12-dart break.

Klaasen bounced back to take the next two legs although his victory was debated on social media as some fans posted screenshots to allege that his winning double in the second leg may not have found the bed.

However, the 35-year-old later took to social media himself to defend himself, sharing a picture and a video of the dart nestling in the corner of double 20.

On Thursday night he tweeted: "First of all I would like to say I’m happy to win the group. But im a bit disappointed people would think i cheated on that 70 finish... my points are long and the image is blurry because of the livestream but I can guarantee you it was in the corner of tops!"

And on Friday he added: "I will be changing my setup next time I’m playing 1 extra camera so I can record everything myself and have some extra footage that will be extra sharp haha! maybe a good tip for everyone involved in playing darts online."

Klaasen was quickly back up on the oche for his final match against Meikle but despite opening up 3-0 and 4-2 leads, his 23-year-old opponent bounced back for a 5-4 victory.

The Dutchman remained top top on legs difference and he'd stay that after Clemens failed to get the 5-0 scoreline against Carlin that he needed to replace him.

As it turned out, the Gentle Giant lost 5-4 as Carlin ended the night on a high.

Klaasen has endured a difficult few seasons and his UK Open quarter-final last month was the first time he'd gone that far in a major since two semi-final runs in 2016. So perhaps this tournament might be an unconventional route to restore some more of his lost confidence.

Each night’s action begins at 1930 BST, and will include webcam footage of each player and their dart board, live score graphics and commentary from Dan Dawson. All PDC Home Tour action will be broadcast live on PDCTV for FREE to ALL registered PDCTV users, regardless of whether you have a paid or free membership