PDC Home Tour: Jesus Noguera topples three players from the world's top 40 to triumph
The action continues live on the Sky Sports app over the weekend with Kyle Anderson headlining Saturday's action, just weeks after recovering from Covid-19
Saturday 9 May 2020 07:10, UK
The PDC's Home Tour has given plenty a chance to shine, and Spain's Jesus Noguera became the latest man to shock a member of the world's top 10 - edging out Ian White to take Friday's top spot.
The 22nd night of action went the distance with three players still in with a chance of topping the group going into the final two games, and two still in the running as the final match was played out.
In the end, it was world No 127 Noguera who progressed, playing from his friend's house in Orihuela in the south west of Spain, he won two of his three matches and got a favour from James Wilson in the last match of the night to get the better of White, who ended up third in the group.
Noguera's triumph, over three players ranked in the world's top 40, means that Spain becomes the eighth nation to claim a winner from the PDC's darting from home roadshow - England, Wales, Holland, Canada, Scotland, Australia and Germany have all registered a winner so far.
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Noguera had given himself the perfect start, beating White for a comprehensive 5-2 success in the opening match of the night. After Danny Noppert had survived a Wilson fightback to win a last-leg decider, Noguera chalked up his second victory of the evening to beat Wilson - a result that ended the Huddersfield thrower's hopes.
White hauled himself back into the run, with a best performance of the night to beat Noppert but the Dutchman still had a glimmer of chance as all three players - Noguera, White and Noppert were in the hunt with two matches remaining.
Noppert had to beat Noguera 5-1 to stand any chance and at 3-1 hopes were raised, but when the Spaniard took the fifth leg, it was all over for Noppy despite the former BDO World Championship finalist going on to claim a 5-2 win.
That success meant White had the chance to claim top spot. A 5-3 win or better would see him top the group and justify his position as favourite, but in a messy final match of the evening, he went down 5-4 to Wilson, who claimed his first win of the night and left Noguera delighted.
White's departure, on a night that featured more than 100 missed darts at double, means he joins world champion Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith and James Wade in crashing out - only Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross from the world's top 10 have progressed, while Noguera joins a growing list of surprise names to advance.
The second phase of the competition remains an unknown as the PDC wait to see when a safe return to something like regulation darts will materialise but in the meantime, the Home Tour continues over the weekend, including a footballers edition featuring Declan Rice, James Maddison, Charlie Austin and Paul Gallagher throwing in aid of the NHS.
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