HEAVY-SCORING STARS THRILL EUROPEAN DARTS GRAND PRIX CROWD
STEPHEN BUNTING, Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock lit up the European Darts Grand Prix with superb second round victories at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen on Saturday.
Bunting's bid to claim a first PDC European Tour title continued in fine fashion as he enjoyed a 6-3 win over world number five Peter Wright.
The Lakeside Champion raced into a 3-0 lead before Wright pulled back to 4-3, but Bunting posted a sensational 170 checkout to halt his opponent's fightback, before hitting his third 11-dart leg of the game as he sealed victory.
Bunting ended the game with an average of 106.07 - the highest of the weekend so far - and admitted: "You've got to play to the best of your ability against Peter because he's an amazing player.
"The atmosphere from the crowd was awesome and I can't wait for Sunday now."
Bunting now meets Vincent van der Voort in Sunday afternoon's third round, after the Dutchman claimed a narrow 6-5 win over former PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship finalist Ricky Evans earlier on Saturday.
Number one seed Gary Anderson began his bid to win a sixth ranking title of the year in impressive fashion, averaging 105.15 as he defeated Ryan De Vreede 6-3, despite the youngster hitting four 180s in reply.
Anderson now faces his protégé Michael Smith in the third round, after the former World Youth Champion hit six maximums in his 6-2 victory over Kevin McDine on Saturday.
Simon Whitlock thrilled his vocal support in the Glaspalast crowd with a 6-4 win over Matt Clark, as the Australian secured victory with a 138 checkout.
Whitlock now meets Kim Huybrechts in the third round, with the Belgian taking out 148 during his 6-2 win over Germany's Michael Rosenauer.
Adrian Lewis opened up his game with Steve Hine with seven perfect darts but had to come from 2-1 down against the qualifier before running out a 6-3 winner, as he progresses to face Steve Beaton on Sunday.
Beaton - a winner in Sindelfingen last September - took out 124 on the bull to win the deciding leg of his contest against Shaun Narain earlier in the day, and Lewis admitted: "This win will stand me in good stead against Steve but I'm up for the challenge.
"I started really well but it went a bit downhill for me and I struggled a bit - but I got through the game."
June's Gibraltar Darts Trophy winner James Wade swept past Justin Pipe 6-2 as he moves through to take on Dave Chisnall, who was a 6-1 winner against German teenager Max Hopp.
Robert Thornton also dropped just one leg as he defeated Australia's emerging star Kyle Anderson 6-1, setting up a third round game with Jamie Caven, who hit six doubles from as many attempts against Andy Hamilton but needed to take out 116 to win the deciding leg of a tight battle.
Austria's emerging star Rowby-John Rodriguez sealed a 6-3 win over Ian White with a 100 checkout as he progressed to face Mervyn King, who enjoyed a 6-4 win over Andrew Gilding - who hit five 180s and a 138 checkout in defeat!
Number two seed Brendan Dolan was knocked out 6-4 by Darren Webster, who now meets Terry Jenkins in the last 16 after the eight-time major finalist came from 2-0 down to defeat Joe Cullen by the same scoreline.
The £100,000 PDC European Tour event concludes on Sunday, with the afternoon's third round games followed in the evening session by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
Relive the action with our blog at the foot of this page, and WATCH LIVE online on Sunday through the websites listed below.
Live Coverage
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To view live coverage, fans must be registered with the respective website listed above
LIVEPDC.TV - www.LIVEPDC.TV for all subscribers outside of the UK & Ireland.
Live Scores will be available through the PDC Live Scores Website, http://live.dartsdata.com .
European Darts Grand Prix
European Tour Event Seven
Glaspalast, Sindelfingen, September 5-7 2014
Saturday September 6
Afternoon Session
1pm-5pm Local Time (12pm-4pm BST)
Second Round
Terry Jenkins (15) 6-4 Joe Cullen
Vincent van der Voort (12) 6-5 Ricky Evans
Steve Beaton (8) 6-5 Shaun Narain
Michael Smith (16) 6-2 Kevin McDine
Mervyn King (11) 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Brendan Dolan (2) 4-6 Darren Webster
Ian White (6) 3-6 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jamie Caven (14) 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Evening Session
7pm-11pm Local Time (6pm-10pm BST)
Second Round
Kim Huybrechts (7) 6-2 Michael Rosenauer
Justin Pipe (13) 2-6 James Wade
Robert Thornton (3) 6-1 Kyle Anderson
Dave Chisnall (4) 6-1 Max Hopp
Simon Whitlock (10) 6-4 Matt Clark
Peter Wright (5) 3-6 Stephen Bunting
Gary Anderson (1) 6-3 Ryan De Vreede
Adrian Lewis (9) 6-3 Steve Hine
Sunday September 7
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
Robert Thornton v Jamie Caven
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Mervyn King
Kim Huybrechts v Simon Whitlock
Darren Webster v Terry Jenkins
Dave Chisnall v James Wade
Stephen Bunting v Vincent van der Voort
Steve Beaton v Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson v Michael Smith
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Thornton/Caven v Rodriguez/King
Huybrechts/Whitlock v Webster/Jenkins
Chisnall/Wade v Bunting/van der Voort
Beaton/Lewis v Anderson/Smith
Semi-Finals
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs
Match Stats
| Ave | 180s | High Finish | Ave | 180s | High Finish | |||
| 89.25 | 2 | 125 | Terry Jenkins | 6-4 | Joe Cullen | 91.87 | 2 | 72 |
| 87.88 | 0 | 58 | Vincent van der Voort | 6-5 | Ricky Evans | 86.41 | 1 | 81 |
| 93.31 | 2 | 132 | Steve Beaton | 6-5 | Shaun Narain | 88.64 | 2 | 157 |
| 98.83 | 6 | 88 | Michael Smith | 6-2 | Kevin McDine | 94.16 | 0 | 100 |
| 90.91 | 1 | 88 | Mervyn King | 6-4 | Andrew Gilding | 89.06 | 5 | 138 |
| 94.68 | 1 | 36 | Brendan Dolan | 4-6 | Darren Webster | 92.84 | 1 | 82 |
| 94.23 | 2 | 82 | Ian White | 3-6 | Rowby-John Rodriguez | 89.43 | 2 | 100 |
| 92.89 | 2 | 122 | Jamie Caven | 6-5 | Andy Hamilton | 94.59 | 3 | 57 |
| 92.09 | 0 | 148 | Kim Huybrechts | 6-2 | Michael Rosenauer | 81.03 | 2 | 100 |
| 89.42 | 2 | 44 | Justin Pipe | 2-6 | James Wade | 88.28 | 0 | 80 |
| 84.71 | 1 | 74 | Robert Thornton | 6-1 | Kyle Anderson | 82.03 | 2 | 16 |
| 94.55 | 0 | 94 | Dave Chisnall | 6-1 | Max Hopp | 84.98 | 1 | 62 |
| 98.77 | 2 | 138 | Simon Whitlock | 6-4 | Matt Clark | 92.27 | 1 | 87 |
| 99.10 | 2 | 40 | Peter Wright | 3-6 | Stephen Bunting | 106.07 | 2 | 170 |
| 105.15 | 2 | 96 | Gary Anderson | 6-3 | Ryan De Vreede | 94.29 | 4 | 65 |
| 87.50 | 4 | 92 | Adrian Lewis | 6-3 | Steve Hine | 84.35 | 0 | 87 |
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