European Darts Open: Stephen Bunting falls at first hurdle

Home favourite Jyhan Artut delighted the German crowd in Dusseldorf as he shocked Stephen Bunting on the opening day of the European Darts Open.

World Cup star Artut impressed throughout the clash with Bunting and raced into a 4-1 lead before taking out 114 to move 5-3 in front after a mini-revival from Bunting.

Artut would go on to complete the victory in the following leg as he landed double 14 for a 13-darter.

There would be less joy for Artut's four fellow Home Nation Qualifiers though as they were all defeated in the first round at the Maritim Hotel.

Christian Soethe - who was appearing in his first European Tour event - lost out 6-4 to Johnny Haines, while fellow German Tomas Seyler was comfortably beaten 6-2 by Mark Walsh and Jamie Lewis narrowly saw off Michael Rosenauer 6-5 in the final game of the day.

Maik Lagendorf also missed out on round two as Joe Cullen ran out a 6-3 victor over the Austrian - taking out 144 in the process - to set up a second-round clash with Simon Whitlock on Saturday.

There would be more joy for Lagendorf's fellow countryman though as Austria's World Cup of Darts pairing of Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic both enjoyed wins on the opening day.

Rodriguez, 21, had the crowd dreaming of a nine-darter as he landed six perfect darts during a thumping 6-1 victory over Barrie Bates, while Suljovic was made to work much harder for his place in round two as he came back from 5-3 down to beat Belgium's Mike De Decker 6-5.

Wes Newton sealed the result of the first round as he averaged 95.94 in a thumping 6-0 whitewash win over Gerwyn Price in the final game of the afternoon.

Things were a lot tighter for Kevin McDine in the opening game of the day though as he edged past Daryl Gurney 6-5 in an evenly-contested encounter.

There were also deciding-leg victories for John Henderson and Devon Petersen in the evening session as the pair were taken all the way by Andrew Gilding and Nathan Aspinall.

German Darts Masters finalist Henderson capitalised on three missed match darts from Gilding in the deciding leg to book his place in round two, while South African Petersen came back from 5-3 behind to set up a second-round clash with Peter Wright.

Fresh from securing his second PDC title at last weekend's Players Championship in Wigan, Jelle Klaasen continued his fine form as he beat Eddie Dootson 6-3, averaging 100.7 and completing the win with a superb 10-dart leg.

Klaasen's fellow countryman and Lakeside champion, Christian Kist was beaten by youngster Dimitri van den Bergh who produced a brilliant display, averaging 100 and with 75 per cent double success during a 6-3 win over Kist.

Another former Lakeside champion, Mark Webster, claimed a 6-2 success against Stuart Kellett and Alan Norris also impressed as he landed five maximums during a comprehensive 6-2 win over Andy Smith.

Dirk van Duijvenbode completed the second round line-up and will face the tough test of second seed James Wade in round two after he defeated fellow Dutch qualifier Leo Hendriks, landing four maximums in an impressive 6-3 victory.