Adrian Lewis survived a match dart from Ritchie Edhouse and had to recover from 5-3 down to set up a mouthwatering second round clash with world champion Rob Cross, as the European Darts Open started in Leverkusen.
Two-time world champion Lewis was broken in the third leg of the match as he struggled to find rhythm.
Edhouse remained in control of the match until when in the tenth leg, with the Englishman throwing for the match, he was broken by Lewis to take the game in to a deciding leg.
A 180 in the final leg helped Lewis to produce a 13-dart hold and confirm his place in the second round where the World Champion, Rob Cross awaits.
“I really struggled at the beginning of the match and he took advantage. I thought to myself I’m not going down like this,” said Lewis.
“I had an operation on my back so I’ve dropped down the rankings but now it’s time to prove myself,” added the world number 20.
James Wade was another big name to progress during the evening session of day one of the European Darts Open, after a 6-3 win over Steve Beaton.
A former winner on the European Tour, Wade had to come through the qualifiers to make his return to the Euro Tour stage.
The former Premier League champion averaged 97 and took out a finish of 116 during a very solid opening win.
“Really happy with a win. You have to earn to play on a Saturday and I hadn’t done that until today,” said Wade.
“I’m enjoying playing, I’m excited to play. The rest of them need to look out. Playing in front of crowds like this, what more could you want?” concluded ‘The Machine’.
The evening session also saw Finland’s Marko Kantele recover from 4-3 down to upset the odds and defeat Vincent van der Voort 6-4 in the opening match of the evening session.
Despite averaging 90, six points less than his opponent, Kantele was able to punish the Dutch Destroyer’s misses at doubles and progress in to round two, where he will face Dave Chisnall.
“I hit the doubles almost perfectly. I was a little lucky today but I like playing in the European Tour and I’m really happy.”
Ron Meulenkamp got his European Darts Open campaign off and running with an impressive 6-3 win over Dimitri van den Bergh, to set up a second round clash with number five seed Daryl Gurney.
“It wasn’t my best but I’ll take the win every time. It feels like a new beginning and I’m really glad I won this match.”
Chris Dobey will face Kim Huybrechts in round two of the Happy Bet European Darts Open after a 6-1 win against Wayne Jones.
The Englishman averaged almost 93 and took out a 164 finish to round off a solid performance.
“I’m looking forward to playing Kim, I’ve got a good record against him but that doesn’t mean anything, the man who plays well on the day will win.”
Danny Noppert progressed in to the second round of the European Darts Open with a 6-4 win over Jefrey de Zwaag. He will now face Joe Cullen in tomorrow’s second round.
Number 16 seed Alan Norris will face Jermaine Wattimena in round two after the Dutchman overcame Jonny Clayton in a 6-2 win.
Wattimena hit his first four attempts at doubles to take control of the clash and went on to book his passage in to round two with a 90 average.
“I started well but the second half wasn’t has good. Alan is a good player, I beat him last time but we will see.”
Gabriel Clemens averaged almost 100 in his 6-1 win over Thomas Junghans. The German delighted the crowd with two maximums and pinned almost 50% of his attempts at doubles.
Earlier in the day Luke Woodhouse began the day with an impressive 6-2 win over Ryan Meikle.
A 94 average and three 180s was easily enough for Woodhouse to see off his opponent on the day.
Richard North whitewashed Martin Atkins to set up a second round tie with Gerwyn Price and Cameron Menzies will face world number one Michael van Gerwen after a 6-2 victory over Mark Wilson.
Tytus Kanik impressed on day one of the European Tour in Leverkusen, beating Jan Dekker 6-3, despite averaging almost five points less.
Jamie Hughes’ debut on the European Tour was marked with a 6-4 win over home favourite Max Hopp.
Hope had led 4-3 but some strong finishing from Hughes saw him overcome his opponent and move in to the second round where he will play Mensur Suljovic.
There were also wins for Darren Johnson, Justin Pipe and John Henderson on day one.
First Round
Afternoon Session
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Ryan Meikle
Martin Atkins 0-6 Richard North
Mark Wilson 2-6 Cameron Menzies
Jan Dekker 3-6 Tytus Kanik
Jamie Hughes 6-4 Max Hopp
Luke Humphries 2-6 Darren Johnson
Michael Rasztovits 2-6 Justin Pipe
Maik Langendorf 2-6 John Henderson
Evening Session
Marko Kantele 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Wayne Jones 1-6 Chris Dobey
Danny Noppert 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jonny Clayton 2-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Thomas Junghans 1-6 Gabriel Clemens
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Ritchie Edhouse
James Wade 6-3 Steve Beaton
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