Two Monks, a Muffin Man & a World Champion Eliminated. It's all action at the Uk Open

A cracking opening night to the UK Open as it provided us some shocks, some exciting young guns, a couple of scintillating comebacks and a couple of fine displays from some seasoned pros, everything you could hope for really.

Here’s my pick of the first round games:

Colin Lloyd 4-3 Jelle Klaasen

This was always going to be one of the top games of the first night in Bolton and both men will have been cursing their luck that they drew each other, but only one will be bothered now.  It was Klaasen that flew out of the blocks and could have made it 3-0 but for missed doubles.  Jaws showed his class though coming back and pipping the young Dutchman to the post.

Reece Robinson 4-0 Barrie Bates

I can say with confidence that this was a coupon buster as it busted my own.  I’ll admit I knew little about Robinson before kick-off yesterday but the whole darting world is taking notice of him now.  A fabulous whitewash win over a man who was in the World Cup final not too long ago, great performance.

Mick McGowan 0-4 Andy Smith

As much as I like to see an underdog come and surprise someone, I equally like to see a favourite really perform and put his adversary in his place, and that’s what the Pie Man did in his first round encounter.  He looked good from the off and showed no mercy in despatching McGowan without dropping a set, ruthless.

Arron Monk 4-3 Steve Hine

This was another I picked as a really tasty first round match and it proved to be so as experience faced off against youth, and as I predicted the youngster prevailed.  In a see-saw battle like this one you might think it would be the hardened veteran that would see it out, but Monkey’s talent shone through and he pinched it by a leg.

Tony Ayres 4-1 Jyhan Artut

This was an impressive victory as it was all set up to be a really tight one between these two, and the bookies had them at exactly the same price beforehand.  Ayres played well though, and proved again how much he loves the UK Open by swatting Artut aside comfortably.

Dennis Priestley 4-3 Dave Ladley

The Menace showed once again why he is an example to all young players out there as he battled through a really tough first round encounter.  At sixty years old there are many who would throw in the towel when they have to fight hard to win the first round but Dennis is always supremely confident in his own ability, and so he should be as he powered through to a win yet again.

Brandon Walsh 4 – 0 Mensur Suljovic (timed out)

I’ve picked this one just because I’ve never seen it before.  Timed out? How very odd.

The beauty of the opening day, of course, is that we’re treated to two rounds of action and we weren’t disappointed by the second set of matches which produced some real gems too, here’s my highlights:

Tony Eccles 4-0 Shaun Griffiths

This was another where the seasoned pro showed what he’s made of and dealt out a thrashing to his less fancied opponent.  Obviously it’s not great to see a 19-year-old getting heavily beaten but the Viper was very impressive throughout and thoroughly deserved a big win.  I still find his action very odd though.

Co Stompe 4-3 Chris Jones

Chris Jones will hopefully look back on this and be happy that he gave such a top player such a good game, but I should think he will just be feeling disappointment right now after missing darts to win the contest.  The Dutchman just couldn’t stamp his authority on the game and Jones was throwing well but the pressure just got to him and he couldn’t cross the finishing line allowing Stompe back in for the win.

Reece Robinson 4-0 Wayne Mardle

Reece Robinson’s night just got better and better after knocking out one big name, he hammered an even bigger one and still hadn’t dropped a leg.  Mardle didn’t have to play brilliantly in his first round match to win it and he couldn’t step his game up to compete with the clearly bang in form Robinson who will go into the third round full of confidence.

Colin Lloyd 4-2 Arron Monk

Arron Monk may be out of the tournament but he has shown that he compete at a top level and shouldn’t be too disappointed at all.  He really did face as stiff a task as any to get through to the third round and he only just failed to do so.  I fancied Lloyd’s experience to see him through this one and it did in the end and he will be flying going into the last 64.

John Bowles 4-3 Devon Petersen

John Bowles may not have expected a whole lot from Thursday night given his draw but he did exceptionally well to pick up two wins and progress to round three.  He upset the crowd by knocking out Manley at the first hurdle and then overcame a strong challenge from a very promising player in Petersen to squeeze into the draw.  He’ll be happy to just get this far and the pressure will be off him which could just improve his game even more.

Peter Hudson 4-3 Magnus Caris

Quite possibly the game of the night came right at the end of it as Peter “The Rock” Hudson made a stunning comeback to eliminate the more established man Magnus Caris.  Everything was going to plan for the Swede as he opened up a 3-0 lead but then missed doubles and poor choices cost his as Hudson came thundering back and recorded a 10-darter in the seventh leg to win the match in style.  It was brilliant stuff from The Rock and he will be delighted with what could have been the biggest win of his career.

But now it’s time for the big boys to enter the fray, and although most of the biggest names have avoided each other there are some really tasty match-ups coming up this evening, these are my picks:

Mervyn King v Mark Walsh

Two real warriors who are perhaps not quite at their best at the minute but are still very high quality players.  Walshy finished top of the UK Open Order of Merit last year, and although he hasn’t quite replicated that he’s still right up there.  King has had some problems in the last year but looks like he’s getting over them now, it’ll be a tight one but I’m going with King.

Co Stompe v Simon Whitlock

The reward for The Matchstick just scraping through into the third round is one of the toughest draws around in The Wizard.  The Aussie had a hit-and-miss Premier League but his quality is undoubted and will fancy himself here.  Stompe is a rhythm player though and if he finds it will give anyone a very stern test, I can’t look past Whitlock though.

Wayne Jones v Reece Robinson

The sensation from Thursday night has been given a tricky tie and will need to continue his excellent form to have a chance of victory.  Wayne Jones might not be the most glamorous name on the tour card but he’s a very solid player and certainly won’t be beaten easily by anyone.  However if Robinson can continue his momentum and catch Jones cold he might have a chance, I fancy a third upset from the youngster tonight.

Alan Tabern v Dennis Priestley

Another really high quality pro match here as two of the most dependable players in the game square off.  Tabern a couple of years ago looked like he might really start challenging at the top, but it hasn’t quite materialised and although it will be tight I can’t bet against the Menace.

Mark Webster v Tony Eccles

This is a crucial game in the short-term career of Mark Webster.  He had an atrocious Premier League and his confidence will be at an all-time low.  Compare this to Eccles who rattled off two good wins last night and you have very contrasting mind-sets.  If Webster has found some form away from the cameras he should be fine, but Eccles could just make his year even worse, I’m going with The Viper.

Roland Scholten v John Part

Many people’s pick to do very well this week is the former World Champion John Part who has been looking very good in tour events of late and much more like the player we know he can be.  Scholten is a good solid player, and a former Champion of course, but if Part is really on his game, and I think he is, then he should win this one.

Terry Jenkins v Adrian Lewis

Easily the highest profile match of the third round sees these two Premier League contenders square-off and it should be a good one.  Adrian Lewis will clearly be favourite for the clash, but over a short format anything could happen and I certainly won’t be rushing to bet against The Bull.  Having said that I still think Jackpot will do it, just.

Steve Brown v Raymond van Barneveld

Another man tipped to do well before the tournament was Steve “Bomber” Brown, but his chances have been dashed thanks to about as tough a draw as he could get against Barney in round three.  Brown finished fourth in the Order of Merit for the competition and is a rising star in the game but he will have to play out of his skin to beat the Dutchman, I think it will be close but Barney should do it.

So there you have it, I’ll be back tomorrow for more of the same and a look forward to Saturday night’s action.  Enjoy it tonight, and here’s the full list of matches:

Main Stage
Co Stompe v Simon Whitlock
Steve Brown v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Mark Frost
Terry Jenkins v Adrian Lewis

Board Two
Mervyn King v Mark Walsh
Ian White v Gary Anderson
Roland Scholten v John Part
Richie Burnett v Colin Lloyd

Board Three
Darren Johnson v Kirk Shepherd
Richard North v Dave Chisnall
Justin Pipe v John Bowles
Robert Thornton v Wayne Atwood

Board Four
Andy Hamilton v Andrew Gilding
Andy Jenkins v Mark Hylton
Wes Newton v John Henderson
Colin Osborne v Mark Jones

Board Five
Sam Hill v Michael Smith
Denis Ovens v Kevin Painter
Vincent van der Voort v Andy Boulton
Mark Dudbridge v Joe Murnan

Board Six
Wayne Jones v Reece Robinson
Joe Cullen v Stuart Monaghan
Alan Tabern v Dennis Priestley
Martyn Turner v Matthew Edgar

Board Seven
Mark Webster v Tony Eccles
James Wade v Michael Mansell
Richie Howson v Michael van Gerwen
Jamie Caven v Steve Beaton

Board Eight
Steve Maish v Ronnie Baxter
Peter Wright v Peter Hudson
Graham Hollis v Paul Nicholson
Paul Harvey v Andy Smith