Man Lok Leung defeats Danny Noppert (Photo Taylor Lanning/PDC)
Gerwyn Price produced a magnificent 170 checkout to light up the opening day of the Riyadh Season Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, as Man Lok Leung created history with victory over Danny Noppert.
The inaugural staging of the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters got underway at the Global Theater on Monday, and Price was one of the evening’s stand-out performers in Riyadh.
The Welshman dominated from start to finish against PDC Asian Tour winner Alexis Toylo, averaging over 100 and landing a spectacular 170 checkout to complete a whitewash win.
“It was a slow start, but after the 170 finish, I felt like I was starting to find my feet,” claimed Price, who pinned six of his ten attempts at double.
“I want to hit the ground running at the beginning of the season and win here for the first time, and I’m definitely after that nine-darter as well!”
Price will go head-to-head with Luke Humphries in a tantalising quarter-final tussle, after the world number two made a sprint for the finish to wrap up a 6-2 win over Japan’s Ryusei Azemoto.
“It’s mixed emotions for me. I struggled getting that first dart in the right place, but it’s a decent start,” asserted Humphries.
“Everybody wants to be the first player to win this title. It’s an exciting tournament and hopefully I can be the first player to put my name on it.”
However, the big story on Day One saw Lok Leung stun former UK Open champion Noppert to become the first player to triumph on a PDC stage in Saudi Arabia.
Lok Leung- aided by an 11-darter in the opening leg – raced into an early 3-0 lead, before wrapping up a 6-3 success to set up a quarter-final clash against Nathan Aspinall.
“I am very happy to play my game on the stage,” reflected Lok Leung, who steered Hong Kong to last year’s World Cup quarter-finals.
“It is my first win in the first match [in Saudi Arabia], so this is a big win for me.”
Aspinall, meanwhile, eased through to the quarter-finals with an emphatic 6-1 success against PDC Asian Champion Lourence Ilagan, averaging 100.93 in the process.
Monday’s action also saw Michael van Gerwen begin his bid for back-to-back World Series of Darts titles with a comprehensive 6-1 victory over Indian trailblazer Nitin Kumar.
The three-time World Champion prevailed in Bahrain on Friday, and he continued his winning run at the Global Theater, converting 74, 92 and 102 finishes to cap off a clinical display.
Stephen Bunting also advanced by the same scoreline, dispatching two-time World Championship qualifier Tomoya Goto to set up a last eight showdown against the Dutch superstar.
Elsewhere, Luke Littler and Gian van Veen overcame Paul Lim and Motomu Sakai respectively to set up a fascinating quarter-final clash, in a repeat of the World Championship final earlier this month.
Littler – pitted against Singapore’s darting icon Lim for the second successive World Series event – defeated the 71-year-old 6-1 in Bahrain, before repeating the feat in Riyadh to open his title bid.
“This is all new to us players, but I felt good up there tonight,” said Littler, who is setting his sights on a fifth World Series of Darts title on Tuesday night.
“It would mean everything to win the first event over here. There can only be one winner, and hopefully I can do it tomorrow.”
Van Veen – runner-up to Van Gerwen in Bahrain on Friday – defied a mid-game rally from Sakai to seal a dominant 6-2 win, reeling off three consecutive legs to maintain his impressive form.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place on a bumper Finals Day in Riyadh on Tuesday, as the remaining eight players compete for televised silverware in Saudi Arabia.
There will also be a bumper $100,000 prize on offer to any player who lands a nine-darter tomorrow – and this bonus could be doubled following the introduction of the Riyadh Season Bullseye.
If a nine-darter is hit during the event, the player will be given one dart at the bullseye to double their prize to $200,000, which would constitute the biggest prize pot for a nine-darter in PDC history.
RESULTS
Round One: Man Lok Leung 6-3 Danny Noppert; Stephen Bunting 6-1 Tomoya Goto; Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Lourence Ilagan; Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Nitin Kumar; Luke Littler 6-1 Paul Lim; Gerwyn Price 6-0 Alexis Toylo; Luke Humphries 6-2 Ryusei Azemoto; Gian van Veen 6-2 Motomu Sakai
