The German surprise Arno Merk meets three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen in the third round of the Darts World Championship.
The Dutchman won 3-1 against Irishman William O’Connor in London on Tuesday evening. Previously, debutant Merk had won 3-0 against the disappointing two-time champion Peter Wright from Scotland.
Van Gerwen, who had only barely beaten the Japanese Mitsuhiko Tatsunami at the start, started nervously again, but turned around a 0-2 lead in the first round to win the set.
As a result, number three in the world rankings initially dominated – also because his opponent O’Connor had visibly problems with his left eye. From the third set onwards the Irishman played better again and found his way back into the game, but van Gerwen took the lead.
In the last session before the short Christmas break, the fans in the Ally Pally also saw the high-class and exciting 3-2 victory of the Englishman Justin Hood against van Gerwen’s compatriot Danny Noppert.
In a wild exchange of blows, Hood won 6:5 against the number six seed in the decisive fifth set; both players averaged over 100 points per shot.