Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld lose at Players Championship
Muffin Man Steve Hine stuns Snakebite after injured Anderson beaten by Mickey Mansell
Saturday 25 November 2017 08:30, UK
Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, the world No 2 and 3, were surprise first-round casualties at the Players Championship in Minehead.
A packed opening schedule at the Butlin's resort in the South West saw 32 matches played across two boards and two sessions - and the drama came at the end as Wright and Anderson crashed out either side of Michael van Gerwen's first-round victory.
In the year's final major before the World Championships get underway on December 14, live on Sky Sports, two of the major contenders for the title at Alexandra Palace are now done for the season.
The major shock came in the final match of the evening when Wright, returning to the venue where he won his first major with the UK Open earlier this year, was taken all the way by Hine who was making his big-stage return.
Grand Slam of Darts and Premier League runner-up Wright led 4-2 only to see Hine chalk up three legs on the bounce to move to the brink of victory.
Wright levelled only to miss a dart at bullseye for victory which gave Hine the chance for a memorable victory and he took it to set up a meeting Peter Jacques in Saturday afternoon's second round.
2014 champion Anderson had earlier looked to be struggling with a shoulder or arm problem and could not shake things off as Northern Irish left-hander Mickey Mansell claimed a notable 6-3 victory for a second-round meeting with Jermaine Wattimena.
Progress for MvG and top seed Rob Cross was a little more straightforward and the pair look to be on course for another high-profile meeting, this time in the final after their quarter-final at the Grand Slam last weekend.
Van Gerwen is chasing a third successive Players Championship title and having won the European Championship, World Series of Darts and Grand Slam is in red hot form.
The world No 1 raced into a 3-0 lead against Paul Nicholson and despite signs of form from his opponent, Van Gerwen was too strong and ran out a 6-3 victor to set up a date with Steve West in the last 32.
Top seed Cross, a four-time Players Championship winner in his first year on the ProTour, was a 6-2 winner against Wales' Robert Owen and will face Steve Lennon, while second seed Daryl Gurney punished Dutch youngster Jeffrey de Zwaan for 14 missed darts at doubles with a 6-0 whitewash win to set up a tie with Robbie Green.
Adrian Lewis made an impressive return to action as he overcame Belgian youngster Mike De Decker 6-3, finishing 50 percent of his doubles, averaging 99 and taking out 129 to seal the win but Raymond van Barneveld was an early big name departure osing to Ian White.
The tournament continues on Saturday with another double sessions, the second round takes places on Saturday afternoon with the last 16 taking place in the evening session. Sunday's finals day starts with the quarter-finals in the afternoon before the semi-finals and final in the evening.
Second Round Draw
Top Half
Rob Cross v Steve Lennon
Richard North v Adrian Lewis
Jamie Cavan v James Wade
Ian White v John Henderson
Mickey Mansell v James Wattimena
Jelle Kllasen v Steve Beaton
Mensur Suljovic v Stephen Bunting
Jonny Clayton v Gerwyn Price
Bottom Half
Daryl Gurney v Robbie Green
Chris Dobey v Robert Thornton
Dave Chisnall v William O'Connor
Ron Meulenkamp v Justin Pipe
Steve Hine v Peter Jacques
Jan Dekker v Simon Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen v Steve West
Darren Webster v Mervyn King
First Round Results
Afternoon Session
Darren Webster 6-2 Antonio Alcinas
Robert Thornton 6-5 James Richardson
Jamie Caven 6-5 Joe Cullen
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Joe Murnan
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Benito van de Pas
Chris Dobey 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Mike De Decker
James Wade 6-4 Kevin Painter
Steve Lennon 6-4 Zoran Lerchbacher
Justin Pipe 6-3 Mark Webster
Richard North 6-1 Peter Hudson
Mervyn King 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Steve Beaton 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts
Steve West 6-4 Ryan Searle
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Keegan Brown
Peter Jacques 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Evening Session
Ian White 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Mensur Suljovic 6-0 Andy Boulton
Rob Cross 6-2 Robert Owen
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Steve Hine 6-5 Peter Wright
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Christian Kist
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Jimmy Hendriks
William O'Connor 6-5 James Wilson
John Henderson 6-2 Darren Johnson
Robbie Green 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
Ron Meulenkamp 6-4 Kyle Anderson
Jan Dekker 6-3 Michael Smith
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Alan Norris
After the Players Championship this weekend the attention turns to the World Championship and the you can follow the race for the last place on Monday with our live stream of the qualifying competition here at www.skysports.com/darts and across our mobile devices as well as our Sky Sports Facebook page.
The draw also takes place on Sky Sports News on Monday November 27 while the action gets underway from Alexandra Palace on December 14. You can stay up to date with all the latest at www.skysports.com/dartsand join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts #LoveTheDarts
