Krzysztof Ratajski delighted his adoring home crowd with a memorable 6-3 victory over Jonny Clayton on the opening night of the 2025 Superbet Poland Darts Masters on Friday.
Ratajski underlined his status as Poland’s number one with a superb opening round display, averaging over 100 and pinning six of his eight attempts at double to preserve home hopes in Gliwice.
Clayton’s three winning legs came in 12, 12 and 11 darts, but it wasn’t enough to deny an unflappable Ratajski, who reeled off three straight legs from 3-3 to raise the roof at the PreZero Arena.
Friday’s first round saw the eight PDC superstars locking horns with their eight East Europe counterparts, and Ratajski was the solitary regional representative to progress to Finals Day.
Reigning champion Luke Littler also took centre stage in Gliwice, coming through a brilliant battle against Karel Sedlacek to open his defence of the title with an entertaining 6-4 victory.
There was nothing to separate the pair after six legs, but Littler established control with clinical 101 and 120 combinations, before wrapping up proceedings with a clutch 76 finish on tops.
“Karel is a top player and he pushed me all the way tonight,” reflected Littler, who averaged 97 and crashed in six 180s to book his place in the last eight.
“Early on I missed a few opportunities at tops and double ten, so I decided to switch it up and go for double 16 and double eight, and it worked!
“I just tried to play my game, and I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere in here tomorrow.”
Littler will renew his rivalry with Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals, after the Stockport star fended off a late rally from Radek Szaganski to close out a hard-fought 6-4 success.
Aspinall – runner-up at last weekend’s US Darts Masters – has recorded back-to-back wins over Littler on the World Series stage in Copenhagen and New York, and he’ll be hoping to complete the hat-trick tomorrow night.
Chris Dobey was one of Friday’s stand-out performers, producing a magnificent display of finishing to dispatch Hungary’s Gyorgy Jehirszki in the opening match of the tournament.
Dobey converted 167, 170 and 110 checkouts to complete a thumping 6-1 win, averaging just shy of 101 to confirm his place in a third World Series quarter-final this year.
The Bedlington star’s reward is a Saturday evening showdown against Gerwyn Price, who defied some late double trouble to sweep aside Polish youngster Sebastian Bialecki 6-3.
2024 runner-up Rob Cross also ran out a convincing 6-2 victor against Host Nation qualifier Krzysztof Kciuk, as he returned to winning ways following his shock whitewash defeat in New York.
Cross will now play 2023 champion Michael van Gerwen, who ran out a 6-4 winner in a gruelling affair against Croatian debutant Pero Ljubic to open his bid for a second Poland Darts Masters crown.
Elsewhere, top seed Stephen Bunting began his bid for a third World Series title of the year with a 6-3 victory against Tytus Kanik, which sets up a fascinating clash with home hero Ratajski.
The Superbet Poland Darts Masters will reach its climax with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper session of action at the PreZero Arena on Saturday, as the remaining eight stars battle for the £30,000 top prize.
The tournament is being broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 Superbet Poland Darts Masters
Friday July 4
First Round
Chris Dobey 6-1 Gyorgy Jehirszki
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Sebastian Bialecki
Rob Cross 6-2 Krzysztof Kciuk
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Pero Ljubic
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Tytus Kanik
Luke Littler 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Radek Szaganski
Saturday July 5 (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting v Krzysztof Ratajski
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Littler
Gerwyn Price v Chris Dobey
Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals
Bunting/Ratajski v Aspinall/Littler
Price/Dobey v Cross/Van Gerwen
Best of 13 legs
Final
v
Best of 15 legs