Bunting opens title defence in style

Stephen Bunting opened his defence of the International Darts Open with a superb display in Riesa, as Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen also prevailed on a bumper day of action.

Bunting rounded off his Premier League campaign with victory in Sheffield on Thursday, and the Liverpudlian maintained his fine form with a resounding 6-2 win against Krzysztof Ratajski.

“I feel great, I feel fresh and I feel ready to win,” declared Bunting, after averaging 102.54 and crashing in five 180s to punish Poland’s number one.

“I won in the Premier League in Berlin last year, and then came straight here and won this, so hopefully there’s a lot of similarities!”

Day Two saw the seeded stars kick off their campaigns at the WT Energiesysteme Arena, as top seed Van Veen halted his run of three straight defeats on the European Tour circuit.

The 24-year-old ran out a 6-3 winner against Connor Scutt, averaging almost 97 to set up a fascinating all-Dutch affair against Kevin Doets.

“I think everyone who’s watched me over the last few weeks knows it’s been tough,” conceded the reigning European Champion.

“I haven’t won a game on the European Tour since Goettingen, so I needed this win today.

“Kevin is one of the best Dutch players at the moment, but if I turn up tomorrow I’ve got a really good shot and hopefully it’s going to be a great game.”

Doets maintained his excellent form with a narrow deciding-leg win over Luke Woodhouse, defying a late fightback to register his third victory over Woodhouse in the space of 19 days.

Saturday’s double session featured a multitude of comebacks, and Van Gerwen was handed a major reprieve in his tie against Madars Razma, who squandered six darts to triumph in a dramatic finale.

Van Gerwen landed 164 and 127 finishes in rallying from 3-0 down to topple the Latvian, and he now meets Damon Heta, who clinically dispatched Niels Zonneveld 6-2 in his opener.

Wessel Nijman also began his bid for a second European Tour title of 2026 with a comeback victory against William O’Connor, converting 107, 134 and 106 checkouts in overturning a 5-3 deficit.

Nijman’s reward is a last 16 clash against third seed James Wade, who eased through to Finals Day courtesy of a ruthless six-leg whitewash at the expense of a struggling Dave Chisnall.

Cameron Menzies launched a sensational fightback from 4-0 down to stun Austrian Darts Open winner Josh Rock, rattling off six consecutive legs to eliminate the Northern Irishman.

Rob Cross also won six legs without reply in demolishing Belgian number one Mike De Decker, recovering from 2-0 down to advance with a 99 average and 66% doubling success rate.

Cross will lock horns with reigning champion Bunting in the last 16, while Menzies plays 2024 champion Martin Schindler, who delighted his home crowd with a last-gasp win over Karel Sedlacek.

Schindler’s World Cup partner Ricardo Pietreczko produced a courageous display to dump out Danny Noppert in a marathon 36-minute contest, despite Noppert recovering from 5-2 down to level.

Pietreczko will now face Ross Smith on Finals Day, after the former European Champion averaged north of 102 to defeat 2020 International Darts Open winner Joe Cullen 6-3.

Ryan Searle and Kim Huybrechts are set to go head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals, following wins over Charlie Manby and Chris Dobey respectively.

World Championship semi-finalist Searle delivered a late flurry to sweep aside debutant Manby, as Huybrechts denied Dobey in a decider for the second European Tour event in succession.

Elsewhere, Ryan Joyce eased past late call-up Christian Kist to earn a match-up against Jermaine Wattimena, who edged past Bradley Brooks in a decider to snap his losing streak in Riesa.

RESULTS
Round Two
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Bradley Brooks
Damon Heta 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Kevin Doets 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Danny Noppert
Ross Smith 6-3 Joe Cullen
Rob Cross 6-2 Mike De Decker
Wessel Nijman 6-5 William O’Connor 
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Josh Rock
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Chris Dobey
James Wade 6-0 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle 6-3 Charlie Manby
Ryan Joyce 6-2 Christian Kist
Gian van Veen 6-3 Connor Scutt
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Madars Razma
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Martin Schindler 6-5 Karel Sedlacek