Lukas Wenig took the roof off Arena Trier with a 167 finish to seal a 6-4 win over Chris Dobey on a day which saw seeds tumble in the European Darts Matchplay.
Having trailed 4-1, German qualifier Wenig produced the finest stage darts off his career to date as he missed just two double attempts and also landed a 100 checkout to end the contest with a 101.07 average.
π©Lukas Wenig trailed 4-1 in a first-to-six against Chris Dobey
β Sporting Life π―π΄πΎβ³οΈπ₯ππ π (@SportingLifeFC) July 2, 2022
π Then he hit this 170 checkout to keep hopes alive...
π...then he won the next three legs...
π²...then he took out 167 to win the match 6-4!pic.twitter.com/bwWZ55ZCmK
Luke Woodhouse dumped out 12th seed Krzysztof Ratajski with a 6-3 victory to set up a last 16 meeting with Rob Cross, who survived four match darts in a dramatic deciding leg against James Wilson before pinning a 104 checkout to win 6-5.
Stephen Bunting also survived a match dart in his last-leg decider against Sebastian Bialecki before landing a 110 checkout to reach the final day of action.
German Darts Grand Prix runner-up Martin Lukeman awaits Bunting on Sunday afternoon after Lukeman scored an impressive 6-4 win over Ryan Searle.
Damon Heta enjoyed victory on his first outing since lifting the World Cup of Darts title, as the Australian number one displayed clinical finishing to defeat Callan Rydz 6-4.
Nathan Aspinall continued his resurgence with a comfortable 6-2 victory over Jermaine Wattimena.
World number seven Jose de Sousa was punished for a below-par display by Dutch Associate Member Qualifier Wesley Plaisier, who ran out a 6-1 winner.
White boots out Cullen and Welsh pair depart
The upsets continued into the evening as Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton and Joe Cullen all departed.
Price was the second scalp claimed by Rowby-John Rodriguez in a match which saw the pair trade scoring blows but struggle to hit doubles.
Price though was especially sloppy and after winning the first leg, the Welshman lost five in a row to a rampaging Rodriguez, who kept his nerve to complete the job.
Ian White came from 4-3 down to beat Cullen, winning back-to-back legs in 12 and 11 darts respectively before being handed a gift in the decider, as Cullen missed seven match darts before White hit his at the first attempt.
Seeds booted from the tournament as defending Champion Joe Cullen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton and Daryl Gurney all crash out on Day Two in Trier! pic.twitter.com/soofUeEKh8
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 2, 2022
Earlier, Clayton had failed to complete the comeback against Scott Williams, who won the first four legs before Clayton got within one at 5-4, only to miss two darts at double 15 and surrender meekly.
Gabriel Clemens came from 5-4 down to beat Daryl Gurney 6-5 and the night ended in fitting fashion, as Jeffrey de Zwaan won three legs on the bounce to beat Dirk van Duijvenbode.
European Darts Matchplay: Saturday results & Sunday schedule
Saturday July 2
Second round (best of 11 legs)
Afternoon session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
- Krzysztof Ratajski 3-6 Luke Woodhouse
- Rob Cross 6-5 James Wilson
- Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
- Stephen Bunting 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
- Damon Heta 6-4 Callan Rydz
- Ryan Searle 4-6 Martin Lukeman
- Jose de Sousa 1-6 Wesley Plaisier
- Chris Dobey 4-6 Lukas Wenig
Evening session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
- Luke Humphries 6-4 Cameron Menzies
- Jonny Clayton 4-6 Scott Williams
- Daryl Gurney 5-6 Gabriel Clemens
- Gerwyn Price 2-6 Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Joe Cullen 5-6 Ian White
- Martin Schindler 5-6 Madars Razma
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Florian Hempel
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-6 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Sunday July 3
Third round (best of 11 legs)
Afternoon session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
- Rowby-John Rodriguez v Gabriel Clemens
- Nathan Aspinall v Scott Williams
- Wesley Plaisier v Madars Razma
- Rob Cross v Luke Woodhouse
- Martin Lukeman v Stephen Bunting
- Damon Heta v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Luke Humphries v Lukas Wenig
- Ian White v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Evening session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
- Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs)
- Semi-finals (best of 13 legs)
- Final (best of 15 legs)
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