European Darts Matchplay 2016: Wade wins in Hamburg

Wade claimed the £25,000 first prize at the Inselparkhalle with a classy weekend of darts, bouncing back in style from missing out on the Betway Premier League Play-Offs to pick up his first ranking title of 2016.

The left-hander had overcome a scare in Saturday's second round tie with Welshman Jonny Clayton before disposing of World Champion Gary Anderson in the third round on Sunday afternoon.

He then edged past young Dutchman Benito van de Pas 6-5 in the quarter-finals before ending Michael van Gerwen's bid to win a fourth successive European Tour event of 2016 in the last four - becoming the first player to defeat the world number one this year in this series.

The opening two legs of the final against Chisnall were shared before Wade clinically won the next three without reply with finishes of 70, 64 and 118 to move 4-1 up.

Chisnall then took out 140, 127 and 78 - on the bull - as he won four of the next five to take the game to a decider, but he missed tops for victory to allow Wade in, and the left-hander took out 82 by hitting tops himself as he took glory.

Wade's previous European Tour win had come in Gibraltar in 2014, and he admitted: "It's a lovely feeling - I don't win often enough now so it means a lot to me when I do.

"I believe I've played solid darts all weekend. I rode my luck but I proved that it's not all always about hitting big averages but hitting crucial shots at the right time. I'm very fortunate that Dave missed the double top and my one dart went in.

"That might be the most important double top I've ever thrown, and I believe that in the next three to four months I can be dangerous." 

The defeat saw Chisnall finish as the runner-up for a second successive weekend on the European Tour, after last Sunday's loss in the decider to van Gerwen, although the St Helens ace picked up another £10,000 in prize money for his efforts.

Chisnall saw off Ron Meulenkamp and John Henderson to reach the quarter-finals, where he overcame tricky Austrian Mensur Suljovic 6-4 before seeing off Peter Wright 6-3 in the last four.

"I can take a lot of positives from this," said Chisnall. "I played well all day but I started too slowly. I got back into it but missed my chance and James deserved to win."

Wright produced some superb darts during his run to the last four - including a sublime 160 checkout during his quarter-final win over Max Hopp - before losing out to Chisnall.

Van Gerwen's bid to continue his European Tour winning streak was ended by Wade in the semi-finals, but the world number one had produced some fine darts to defeat Daryl Gurney in the third round and Jelle Klaasen, in a high-quality quarter-final.

The tournament also saw Germany's Max Hopp win through to a European Tour quarter-final for the first time, as the reigning PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion defeated Joe Murnan, Ian White and Terry Jenkins to delight a capacity Hamburg crowd.

The youngster eventually lost out to Wright, but continues his climb towards a place in the world's top 40 after picking up £3,500 as he lost out in the last eight alongside Austria's Mensur Suljovic and Dutch duo Benito van de Pas and Jelle Klaasen, who both lost in a deciding 11th leg.

The next PDC European Tour event will be the Austrian Darts Open in Vienna from June 10-12. 

European Darts Matchplay 2016 Daily Results

Friday May 13
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Mike De Decker 6-3 Darren Johnson
Darren Webster 6-1 Jonathan Worsley
Max Hopp 6-5 Joe Murnan
Richie Corner 5-6 Alan Norris
Cristo Reyes 3-6 Magnus Caris
Rene Eidams 6-4 Ricky Williams
Michel van der Horst 4-6 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Remco van Eijden 6-1 Andrew Gilding

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Ron Meulenkamp 5-6 Joe Cullen
Josh Payne 5-6 Jamie Caven
John Henderson 6-5 Mark Webster
Jyhan Artut 4-6 Chris Dobey
Jamie Robinson 2-6 Vincent van der Voort
Kevin Painter 4-6 Daryl Gurney
Andree Welge 3-6 Maik Langendorf
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Devon Petersen

Saturday May 14
Second Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Terry Jenkins (10) 6-1 Magnus Caris
Benito van de Pas (12) 6-3 Alan Norris
Simon Whitlock (15) 3-6 Jamie Caven
Ian White (7) 2-6 Max Hopp
Robert Thornton (11) 4-6 John Henderson
Mensur Suljovic (14) 6-0 Mike De Decker
Jelle Klaasen (9) 6-5 Chirs Dobey
Mervyn King (16) 3-6 Daryl Gurney

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Dave Chisnall (6) 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Kim Huybrechts (5) 2-6 Vincent van der Voort
Michael Smith (3) 6-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Adrian Lewis (8) 6-4 Rene Eidams
Peter Wright (2) 6-5 Darren Webster
James Wade (4) 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Gary Anderson (13) 6-3 Maik Langendorf
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-2 Remco van Eijden

Sunday May 15
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
Michael Smith 5-6 Mensur Suljovic
Dave Chisnall 6-4 John Henderson
Max Hopp 6-3 Terry Jenkins
Peter Wright 6-3 Jamie Caven
James Wade 6-2 Gary Anderson
Vincent van der Voort 3-6 Benito van de Pas
Adrian Lewis 4-6 Jelle Klaasen
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Daryl Gurney 

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Suljovic 4-6 Chisnall
Hopp 4-6 Wright
Wade 6-5 van de Pas
Klaasen 5-6 van GerwenSemi-Finals Chisnall 6-3 Wright
Wade 6-2 van GerwenFinalChisnall 5-6 Wade