Darts results: Peter Wright pulls off escape in Dutch

Wright looked dead and buried against the Pole in European Tour event in Amsterdam as he trailed 5-1 in the race to six, but was able to reel off five successive legs to claim victory and make it through to Sunday afternoon’s quarter-final.

One man who did tumble was Dirk van Duijvenbode as the Dutchman got a little too excited during his walk-on and tripped over on the stage while dancing in front of his home crowd.

However, he was able to pick himself up and beat Irishman Dylan Slevin, although he needed a 129 checkout in the final-leg decider to win 6-5.

Michael van Gerwen eased through to the last 16 on a thrilling day of second round action.

Van Gerwen was one of four Dutch stars to progress on home soil, along with van Duijvenbode, Danny Noppert, and Berry van Peer.

The three-time world champion began his bid for a record-extending 36th European Tour title with a 6-2 success against Gabriel Clemens, converting six of his nine attempts at double to advance.

“This means a lot,” reflected an emotional van Gerwen, who celebrated his victory on stage with his daughter Zoe.

“I didn’t play well in Rotterdam, but I am pushing to perform better all the time.

“This is only the second time on the European Tour that my daughter is with me. She has had a good weekend and I won my game, and I’m glad I did.

“I love being back in Holland. I would love to be playing at my best, but I’m not done here, and I’d like to thank all the fans for their support.”

Dutch Darts Championship: Schedule and results

Friday April 28
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

• Graham Hall 6-0 Adam Gawlas
• Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Andy Boulton
• Berry van Peer 6-2 Alan Soutar
• Madars Razma 6-3 John O'Shea
• Keane Barry 6-2 Marko Kantele
• Jim Williams 6-1 George Killington
• Martin Lukeman 6-3 Martijn Dragt
• Dylan Slevin 6-0 Marcel Hausotter

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

• Ian White 6-2 Arron Monk
• Gabriel Clemens 6-5 Gian van Veen
• Roman Benecky 6-2 Gary Anderson
• Stephen Bunting 6-0 Adam Smith-Neale
• Daryl Gurney 6-2 Ricardo Pietreczko
• Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
• Steve Beaton 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
• Ross Smith 6-0 Jermaine Wattimena

Saturday April 29
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

• Josh Rock 6-2 Graham Hall
• Dave Chisnall 6-4 Martin Lukeman
• Andrew Gilding 6-4 Ian White
• Rob Cross 3-6 Keane Barry
• Danny Noppert 6-1 Madars Razma
• Joe Cullen 5-6 Stephen Bunting
• Damon Heta 6-4 Steve Beaton
• Martin Schindler 6-4 Roman Benecky

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

• Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Daryl Gurney
• Jonny Clayton 5-6 Berry van Peer
• Michael Smith 6-4 Jim Williams
• Ryan Searle 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
• Peter Wright 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
• Luke Humphries 6-3 Ross Smith
• Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Dylan Slevin

Sunday April 30
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

• Keane Barry v Ryan Searle
• Michael van Gerwen v Martin Schindler
• Michael Smith v Peter Wright
• Dave Chisnall v Josh Rock
• Dirk van Duijvenbode v Stephen Bunting
• Damon Heta v Berry van Peer
• Nathan Aspinall v Danny Noppert
• Luke Humphries v Andrew Gilding

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

Quarter-finals

• Four matches

Semi-finals

• Two matches

Final

• Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2

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