James Hubbard produced a major shock in the PDC’s second European Tour Event with a 6-4 defeat of back to back World Champion Adrian Lewis.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

The 19-year-old, who won the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship last month, showed his class by breaking the world number two twice, as he progressed to round two with 96.11 average.

Australian pair Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson enjoyed first round victories, while Raymond van Barneveld and Mark Webster also booked their places in round two of the German Darts Championship.

They are joined in Saturday’s second round by Mervyn King, Vincent van der Voort and Co Stompe after a high-quality opening day, which saw Colin Lloyd hit a nine-dart finish.

Whitlock progressed with a 6-0 whitewash over Daniel Starkey, while Nicholson beat Andre Welge 6-3 with a brilliant three-dart average of 104.36.

‘Barney’ cruised to a 6-1 victory over Mareno Michels, while Webster saw off his namesake Darren with a 6-4 success, setting up a second round clash against Colin Osborne.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Dutch duo Stompe and van der Voort defeated Sam Hill 6-2 and Jim Walker 6-5 respectively, while Mervyn King triumphed 6-3 over Peter Hudson.

Michael van Gerwen suffered an early exit though, with defeat at the hands of Justin Pipe in a thrilling first round encounter, in which both players averaged around the 100 mark.

Andy Jenkins was unfortunate to have been edged out 6-5 by Ronnie Baxter, after leading until the penultimate leg.

James Wade also suffered defeat in a last leg decider, losing out to Austrian opponent Mensur Suljovic.

The second round takes place over two sessions on Saturday, with Whitlock taking on Brendan Dolan in the afternoon session, which also sees King face Wayne Jones, Nicholson take on nine-dart hero Lloyd and van der Voort versus Baxter.

Hubbard faces Peter Wright on Saturday evening, when Stompe takes on Michael Barnard and van Barneveld plays Alan Tabern.

By Chris Murphy

See four of the world’s top professional darts players go head to head in the Charlton Masters on Thursday 19 July.

Michael van Gerwen is hoping to continue his good form when he competes in the German Darts Championship European Tour event this weekend.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

‘Mighty Mike’ stormed to victory in Birmingham on Sunday, claiming his second Pro-Tour victory of 2012 with a string of impressive performances.

One of his most notable wins en route to his Players Championship triumph was a 6-1 success over Justin Pipe, who he meets in the first round the Berlin tournament on Friday.

“I was delighted with the win at the weekend after playing excellent darts,” said van Gerwen, who averaged almost 109 in his defeat of Pipe.

“I was very pleased with the way I performed against Justin because it proved that I can play well against slower players.

“I had already beaten Dennis Priestley and Mark Walsh, which gave me confidence going into the game against Justin.

“Winning the way I did gives me confidence for playing him in Germany.”

A good run for the young Dutchman in Berlin would help speed up van Gerwen’s charge into the world’s top 32.

“I am on course to get into the top 32 this year,” said the 23-year-old, who is currently ranked at number 35.

“I am focused on that now because I am too old for the youth tour and it is time for me to become an established player.

“I know that I can beat anyone when I play well and I am playing well more regularly. I am feeling very good and looking forward to a good weekend in Germany.”

By Chris Murphy

See four of the world’s top professional darts players go head to head in the Charlton Masters on Thursday 19 July.