Jamie Lewis topped the group on the first evening of action in the PDC darts Home Tour.
The Welshman stunned reigning world champion Peter Wright – who paid tribute to the NHS with his latest hairdo – with a 5-1 drubbing in their best-of-nine-legs clash, with Lewis also narrowly beating Peter Jacques after an opening defeat to Niels Zonneveld.
Night one was certainly not without its technical hitches, with scores of fans initially unable to access the live stream and matches interrupted by wifi problems.
There were also plenty of complaints about the poor picture quality, though the PDC are working on improvements for the remaining 31 consecutive nights of action.
World no3 Gerwyn Price enters the competition on Saturday night along with Rowby-John Rodriguez, Luke Woodhouse and Ted Evetts.
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That’s just about it for this evening, but we’ll be back tomorrow with more arrows from the homes of four more darts stars.
See you then…
That’s more like it from Price. He fights back with a break and then holds to go 4-2 up and leave Evetts with the throw to stay in the match.
We’re on throw through three here, with Evetts leading Price by 2-1. Gerwyn won’t want to lose to two Englishmen in one night…
Rodriguez is not going down without a fight as both men hold to make it 4-2…
Not quite as efficient, but 16 darts and Woodhouse first holds and then breaks to go 3-1 ahead.
Rodriguez shows Price how its done and brings Woodhouse back down to earth by breaking him first up.
Woodhouse regains his momentum and levels up at 1-1.
Luke Woodhouse will stay on now to take on Rodriguez, who has lost his first two matches.
Win this and he’s won the group!
An upset could be on the cards here. Woodhouse holds in emphatic fashion and goes 2-0 up.
Price was a slow starter in the first game and he’s muffed it up early on here, failing to check-out from 24 with three darts.
Woodhouse can’t punish him from 99, but Price then busts. Double-tops and Woody leads 1-0 against the throw.
Next up the two men who won their opening matches – Gerwyn Price vs Luke Woodhouse.
This could effectively be the decider…
And he makes it count!
Evetts is takes it 5-3 and is still in the hunt. Rodriguez will be playing only for pride when he takes on Luke Woodhouse later.
Both men come close to a 126 checkout but both miss their doubles. Rodriguez busts and Evetts punishes him!
The Englishman leads 4-3 and will throw for the match.
Could be going the distance this one. 3-3, but it’s the Austrian who will have the throw in two of these three legs.
Evetts leaves himself no angle to work with on the double but somehow finds the gap and keeps things on throw at 2-2.
Format, draw and schedule
Four players will be in action from 7:30pm BST every night for 32 days in a row starting on Friday, and 32 group winners will advance to the second stage of the competition.
Nights One to Four draw and results
Group One – Friday April 17
- Peter Wright 5-4 Peter Jacques
- Jamie Lewis 3-5 Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Jacques 5-2 Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Wright 1-5 Jamie Lewis
- Jamie Lewis 5-4 Peter Jacques
- Niels Zonneveld 1-5 Peter Wright
Group Two – Saturday April 18
- Gerwyn Price v Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Luke Woodhouse v Ted Evetts
- Rowby-John Rodriguez v Ted Evetts
- Gerwyn Price v Luke Woodhouse
- Luke Woodhouse v Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Ted Evetts v Gerwyn Price
Group Three – Sunday April 19
- Dave Chisnall v Scott Waites
- Jan Dekker v Jonathan Worsley
- Scott Waites v Jonathan Worsley
- Dave Chisnall v Jan Dekker
- Jan Dekker v Scott Waites
- Jonathan Worsley v Dave Chisnall
Group Four – Monday April 20
- Ross Smith v Lisa Ashton
- Mickey Mansell v Geert Nentjes
- Lisa Ashton v Geert Nentjes
- Ross Smith v Mickey Mansell
- Mickey Mansell v Lisa Ashton
- Geert Nentjes v Ross Smith
How to watch on TV and live stream online
The matches will be broadcast live on PDCTV for free to registered PDCTV users, including those with free memberships. Sign up for free to watch all the action on TV or online.
Tournament rules
- All matches are best of nine legs (first to five).
- The player listed on the left of the fixture will throw first in odd-numbered legs.
- Two Points awarded for a win.
- Should players finish level on Points, the Leg Difference will be used to decide positions. Should Points and Leg Difference be equal between two players, then the winner of the game between the two players will determine who finishes higher. Should Points and Leg Difference be equal between three players, the Overall Average of each player (across the three games on the night) will be used to determine who finishes higher.
Scores and commentary
To add a layer of shine to proceedings, there will be live score graphics on screen along with commentary from Rob Dawson.
Prize money
There is no prize money on offer, just an appearance fee, and Barry Hearn is in talks about a similar model for snooker.
PDC Darts Home Tour 2020 results LIVE: TV stream, watch free online, schedule, draw, score, prize money, rules - Evening Standard
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