European Darts Open UK Qualifier

NINE-DART stars Adam Hunt and Prakash Jiwa were amongst the 20 players to win places in the European Darts Open event in Friday's UK Qualifier at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.

The pair both landed perfect legs as they won through to compete in the £100,000 European Tour event at the Maritim Hotel in Dusseldorf, which will be held from May 17-19.

Hunt, a product of the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour and a winner on the Challenge Tour recently, hit his perfect leg in a superb 6-2 win over Tony West, before defeating Mark Lawrence 6-3 to win through to his second European Tour event of the year.

Jiwa, meanwhile, followed up his first round win over Andy Johnson by hitting his nine-darter in a 6-3 defeat of Brett Claydon before edging out Andy Jenkins in deciding leg to earn his spot in Dusseldorf.

Former World Champion Steve Beaton, who narrowly missed out qualifying automatically through the One-Year ProTour Order of Merit, sealed his spot in Germany with wins over Jamie Robinson, Peter Evison and Ken MacNeil.

Alex Roy, another veteran of the professional circuit, won through to his second European Tour event of the year with wins over Paul Barham and Lee Palfreyman, while Matt Clark defeated youngsters Sam Hill and Michael Smith to qualify.

Another hugely experienced star, Swindon's Dennis Smith, battled past Steve Grubb, James Hubbard and Anthony Wort as he earned his spot in a first European Tour event of the year.

David Pallett, who impressed in March's UK Masters event at Butlins Minehead, saw off Steve Brown and Denis Ovens to qualify, while Shaun Griffiths and Andy Parsons will make their European Tour debuts after winning through in Wigan.

Kevin McDine defeated Barrie Bates, Dave Ladley and David Copley as he progressed, while Scotland's Keith Stephen picked up narrow wins over James Richardson and Mark Dudbridge as he booked a place in Dusseldorf next month.

Youngster Chris Aubrey edged out World Youth Championship finalist Ricky Evans 6-5 as he qualified, with Yorkshire's Darren Johnson also going all the way to a deciding leg in both of his wins, over Jack Tweddell and Scott Rand.

Essex's Stephen Hardy overcame Nigel Heydon, Darren Webster and John Bowles as he won through, while Swindon's Mark Cox edged out Connie Finnan 6-5, after the Irishman had earlier seen off both Ted Hankey and Dean Winstanley.

Midlands ace Mark Jones picked up wins over Josh Payne and Ian Walters, while York's Terry Temple and veteran Steve Maish qualified for a second successive European Tour event with their wins over Nick Fullwell and Ross Smith respectively.

Paul Amos had to see off Dan Russell, Matthew Dicken and Ewan Hyslop to earn his place in Dusseldorf, and Kevin Dowling defeated Jake Patchett and Daryl Gurney as he booked his place in the main event.

The £100,000 tournament will be held from May 17-19 at the Maritim Hotel in Dusseldorf, with the final places in the field being filled on May 16 when the European Qualifier and Host Nation Qualifier are held at the venue.

European Darts Open - UK Qualifier
European Tour Event Three
Friday April 26, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
First Round

Dennis Smith 6-2 Steve Grubb
James Hubbard 6-5 John Scott
Alan Tabern 6-5 Jim Walker
Stephen Hardy 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Scott Rand 6-1 Kentaro Suzuki
Connie Finnan 6-1 Ted Hankey
Peter Evison 6-5 Joe Cullen
Steve Beaton 6-4 Jamie Robinson
Ian Walters 6-1 Sean Ryan
Prakash Jiwa 6-1 Andrew Johnson
Nick Fullwell 6-1 Richie Howson
Steve Hine 6-5 Campbell Jackson
Keith Stephen 6-1 Atif Hussain
Lee Palfreyman 6-3 Josh Jones
Chris Aubrey 6-1 Glen Miller
Paul Amos 6-2 Dan Russell
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Brandon Walsh
Kevin McDine 6-5 Barrie Bates
Steve Brown 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Michael Smith 6-5 Joey Palfreyman
Adam Hunt 6-1 Lee Moffat
Joe Murnan 6-4 Mark Hylton

Second Round
Anthony Wort 6-0 Steve Randall
Dennis Smith 6-3 James Hubbard
Andy Parsons 6-1 Steve McNally
Alan Tabern 6-0 Johnny Haines
John Bowles 6-5 Jonathan Worsley
Stephen Hardy 6-4 Darren Webster
Darren Johnson 6-5 Jack Tweddell
Scott Rand 6-5 John Henderson
Mark Cox 6-1 Jason Hogg
Connie Finnan 6-5 Dean Winstanley
Ken MacNeil 6-1 Paul Rowley
Steve Beaton 6-0 Peter Evison
Mark Jones 6-4 Josh Payne
Ian Walters 6-4 Matthew Dennant
Andy Jenkins 6-2 Steve West
Prakash Jiwa 6-3 Brett Claydon - Prakash Jiwa hits nine-dart finish
Terry Temple 6-1 Craig Pope
Nick Fullwell 6-4 Gaz Cousins
Ross Smith 6-4 Adrian Gray
Steve Maish 6-2 Steve Hine
Mark Dudbridge 6-3 Keith Rooney
Keith Stephen 6-5 James Richardson
Alex Roy 6-2 Paul Barham
Lee Palfreyman 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Ricky Evans 6-0 Vernon Sheppard
Chris Aubrey 6-2 Tony Littleton
Ewan Hyslop 6-2 Brian Woods
Paul Amos 6-3 Matthew Dicken
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Jake Patchett
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Michael Barnard
David Copley 6-1 Darren Whittingham
Kevin McDine 6-3 Dave Ladley
Denis Ovens 6-4 Peter Hudson
David Pallett 6-2 Steve Brown
Matt Clark 6-4 Sam Hill
Michael Smith 6-0 Paddy Meaney
Mark Lawrence 6-5 William O'Connor
Adam Hunt 6-2 Tony West - Adam Hunt hits nine-dart finish
Shaun Griffiths 6-4 Pete Dyos
Joe Murnan 6-5 Joshua Carter

Third Round
Dennis Smith 6-1 Anthony Wort
Andy Parsons 6-4 Alan Tabern
Stephen Hardy 6-1 John Bowles
Darren Johnson 6-5 Scott Rand
Mark Cox 6-5 Connie Finnan
Steve Beaton 6-5 Ken MacNeil
Mark Jones 6-2 Ian Walters
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Terry Temple 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Steve Maish 6-5 Ross Smith
Keith Stephen 6-5 Mark Dudbridge
Alex Roy 6-4 Lee Palfreyman
Chris Aubrey 6-5 Ricky Evans
Paul Amos 6-4 Ewan Hyslop
Kevin Dowling 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Kevin McDine 6-2 David Copley
David Pallett 6-2 Denis Ovens
Matt Clark 6-4 Michael Smith
Adam Hunt 6-3 Mark Lawrence
Shaun Griffiths 6-3 Joe Murnan

Qualifiers
Dennis Smith
Andy Parsons
Stephen Hardy
Darren Johnson
Mark Cox
Steve Beaton
Mark Jones
Prakash Jiwa
Terry Temple
Steve Maish
Keith Stephen
Alex Roy
Chris Aubrey
Paul Amos
Kevin Dowling
Kevin McDine
David Pallett
Matt Clark
Adam Hunt
Shaun Griffiths