International Darts Open 2016: Suljovic breaks PDC duck


Mensur Suljovic claimed his first PDC title with victory in the final of the HappyBet International Darts Open in Germany.

The Austrian, whose previous best performances had been reaching semi-finals, saw off Belgium's Kim Huybrechts 6-5 in an enthralling final to win the £25,000 first prize.

Suljovic had started his Sunday with a 6-5 win over Jelle Klaasen in the third round but his path through to the final proved a little easier after that tense success.

He defeated Yordi Meeuwisse 6-1 and repeated that result in the semi-finals, where England's James Wilson was his victim.

Huybrechts looked to be in ominous form going into his clash with Suljovic, losing only five legs as he cruised to wins over Robbie Green, Dragutin Horvat and Benito van de Pas, who he beat 6-2 in the last four.

Suljovic led 4-2 and looked to be on his way to a comfortable victory but Huybrechts bounced back to the form he had shown earlier in the day, reeling off three successive legs to move to the verge of victory.

But, after Suljovic had levelled, Huybrechts missed seven darts to win the match before Suljovic hit double-16 and dropped to his knees in celebration.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Suljovic. "I can't believe what happened in the final and for Kim to miss so many match darts, but I'm over the moon to win my first event."

With a number of top names missing from the tournament, Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall and Terry Jenkins all missed out on the chance of vital ranking points with third-round exits, while defending champion Michael Smith crashed out on Saturday.

Victory improves Suljovic's chances of appearing in November's Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton and moves him up to 14th in the PDC Order of Merit. 

International Darts Open Daily Results

Friday September 2
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Robbie Green 6-4 James Richardson
Andy Hamilton 2-6 James Wilson
Maik Langendorf 3-6 Jim Walker
Ryan Meikle 6-0 Michael Rasztovits
Yordi Meeuwisse 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Jeffrey de Zwaan 2-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael Barnard 5-6 Mike Holz
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Mark Frost

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST) 
Andy Boulton 6-3 Jamie Caven
Krzysztof Ratajski 1-6 Chris Dobey
Kyle Anderson 6-2 Vincent Kamphuis
Dragutin Horvat 6-4 Ricky Evans
Jeffrey de Graaf 4-6 Joe Cullen
Max Hopp 3-6 Darren Webster
Kevin Painter 1-6 Devon Petersen
Rene Eidams 1-6 Steve West

Saturday September 3
Second Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Ian White 6-2 Jim Walker
Stephen Bunting 1-6 Robbie Green
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Michael Barnard
Alan Norris 1-6 Andy Boulton
Robert Thornton 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts
Gerwyn Price 5-6 Dragutin Horvat*** Ryan Meikle receives bye after Michael van Gerwen's withdrawal, as does Yordi Meeuwisse after Daryl Gurney also pulled out

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Kyle Anderson
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Darren Webster
Michael Smith 4-6 James Wilson
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Chris Dobey
Peter Wright 6-4 Steve West
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Devon Petersen
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Joe Cullen

Sunday September 4
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
Ryan Meikle 2-6 Yordi Meeuwisse
Jelle Klaasen 5-6 Mensur Suljovic
James Wilson 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Dave Chisnall 5-6 Andy Boulton
Peter Wright 3-6 Simon Whitlock
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Robert Thornton
Ian White 4-6 Dragutin Horvat
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Robbie Green

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Yordi Meeuwisse 1-6 Mensur Suljovic
James Wilson 6-1 Andy Boulton
Simon Whitlock 5-6 Benito van de Pas
Dragutin Horvat 1-6 Kim Huybrechts

Semi-Finals 
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 James Wilson
Benito van de Pas 2-6 Kim Huybrechts

Final 
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Kim Huybrechts 

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