Stephen Bunting opened his defence of the Elten Safety Shoes 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 BetMGM 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 No 1.
“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!”
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Bunting’s walk-on went down a treat here in Riesa, with everyone apart from Krzysztof Ratajski!
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Highlights of the Premier League night 16 final from Sheffield as Bunting defeated Luke Humphries
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.
“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 match darts.
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Michael van Gerwen set up a meeting with Damon Heta
Van Gerwen landed 164 and 127 finishes in rallying from 3-0 down to topple the Latvian and next meets Damon Heta, who…
2026-05-23 22:38:00
