Darts results: Peter Wright crashes out on opening night of the PDC's Home Tour as Jamie Lewis progresses
World champion Peter Wright suffered a shock exit on the opening night of the PDC's Home Tour as Jamie Lewis took top spot in group one.
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The PDC's innovative solution to giving fans live darts to enjoy during lockdown - and their Tour Card holders valuable match practice and prize money to compete for - got underway in four players' homes across Europe on a historic Friday night.
Such was the demand to watch an actual event taking place in present day rather than reruns of sporting classics and documentaries, it was perhaps inevitable that the PDC's streaming service would suffer technical problems early on, but they swiftly responded by directing fans to YouTube and the Sky Sports App to view the action.
And unlike Gary Anderson and Daryl Gurney, who won't be taking part during the 32-night long group stage due to their dreadfully poor WiFi, the internet connections in the houses of Peter Wright, Jamie Lewis, Peter Jacques and Niels Zonneveld held firm for all six matches to be viewed through their respective webcams.
The only location it dropped out on a few occasions was the home of commentator Dan Dawson, consequently bringing affected matches to a halt, but the camaraderie between him and the history-making quartet throughout the night made up for that and, more importantly, enabled viewers gain greater insight into the personalities of the pros.
Of course there were always going to be critics lining up on social media to voice their rather unforgiving complaints about streaming and camera quality, despite this being the very first night of new venture with plenty of scope for improvement.
Even in an era where many of us have more spare time than ever before, patience remains in short supply.
Regarding the actual standard of the darts, anyone who thought the supposedly relaxed nature of the tournament, where four different players each night will vie for top spot in their groups and a place in the next round, would be ripe for sky high averages were mistaken.
"I'm more nervous playing in my own living room than the Ally Pally," said Jamie Lewis as he posted an average of 79 during his nervy 5-4 victory over Peter Jacques in his final game.
That result bizarrely came hot on the heels from his 'shock' 5-1 thrashing of Wright - with the help of a 99 average - and despite losing his first of the night to Dutch youngster Niels Zonneveld 5-3, the Welshman won the group on legs difference from Snakebite.
The world champion completed the night with a 5-1 triumph over Zonneveld that would be in vain as far as qualification for next month's second stage of the competition, and afterwards admitted it was surprisingly difficult to play to his best in the comfort of his own home.
Wright, who was sporting an NHS-themed hairstyle to show his support for those on the front line in the battle against coronavirus, averaged 93 in the tournament-opening 5-4 win against Jacques, 81 in defeat to Lewis and 77.6 against Zonneveld.
The 50-year-old, who also clinched the Masters this season, felt not being able to see the body language of your opponent and not feeling the usual match rhythm were crucial factors.
Yorkshireman Jacques, ranked 129 in the world responded to his loss to Wright by averaging 95 in victory over Zonneveld that put him with a chance of qualification but he'd miss out in a crucial last leg decider with Lewis.
Zonneveld, 21, also had a chance of sneaking top spot courtesy of his earlier result against the former World Championship semi-finalist only to be brushed aside by Wright.
The Home Tour will continue on Saturday night when Gerwyn Price steps up to the oche without a boo to be heard.
- 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
PDC Home Tour Darts: Fixtures, Results & Table
Play begins at 1930 BST each night
Best of nine legs
Click here for Sky Bet odds
GROUP 1: Friday April 17
- Peter Wright 5-4 Peter Jacques
- Jamie Lewis 3-5 Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Jacques 5-2 Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Wright 1-5 Jamie Lewis
- Jamie Lewis 5-4 Peter Jacques
- Niels Zonneveld 1-5 Peter Wright
GROUP STANDINGS
- Jamie Lewis (Q) P 3 W 2 L 1 Leg Diff +3 Pts 4
- Peter Wright P 3 W 2 L 1 Leg Diff +1 Pts 4
- Peter Jacques P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff +1 Pts 2
- Niels Zonneveld P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff -5 Pts 2
GROUP 2: Saturday April 18
- Gerwyn Price v Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Luke Woodhouse v Ted Evetts
- Rowby-John Rodriguez v Ted Evetts
- Gerwyn Price v Luke Woodhouse
- Luke Woodhouse v Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Ted Evetts v Gerwyn Price
Sky Bet odds: Gerwyn Price 4/7 to top group, Woodhouse 4/1, Rodriguez 6/1, Evetts 6/1
GROUP 3: Sunday April 19
- Dave Chisnall v Scott Waites
- Jan Dekker v Jonathan Worsley
- Scott Waites v Jonathan Worsley
- Dave Chisnall v Jan Dekker
- Jan Dekker v Scott Waites
- Jonathan Worsley v Dave Chisnall
Sky Bet odds: Dave Chisnall 4/5 to top group, Waites 3/1, Dekker 9/2, Worsley 7/1
GROUP 4: Monday April 20
- Ross Smith v Lisa Ashton
- Mickey Mansell v Geert Nentjes
- Lisa Ashton v Geert Nentjes
- Ross Smith v Mickey Mansell
- Mickey Mansell v Lisa Ashton
- Geert Nentjes v Ross Smith
Sky Bet odds: Ross Smith 13/8 to top group, Mansell 5/2, Nentjes 11/4, Ashton 9/2
GROUP 5 Onwards: Players and groups yet to be confirmed