The European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen saw a major upset on Saturday afternoon as defending champion Gary Anderson was eliminated by home hero Niko Springer. Springer, a former European Tour winner, broke early with a 62 checkout to lead 1-0 and built a huge advantage, going 4-1 up. Anderson fought back with a 108 checkout to reduce the deficit to 4-2 and later pinned double eight to make it 5-3, but Springer sealed a 6-3 victory with a 100 checkout.
Stephen Bunting also progressed after a tough 6-3 win over Mickey Mansell. Bunting broke early with a 124 checkout to lead 3-1 and extended his advantage to 4-1 with a 12-darter on double eight. Mansell clawed back to 4-3 by pinning double 10, but Bunting finished strongly with a 104 checkout and double 20 to secure the match. Chris Dobey was in superb form, defeating Andrew Gilding 6-2. Dobey raced to a 3-0 lead, including an 18-darter on double two, and later hit a 52 checkout for a 12-darter to go 4-1 up. Gilding responded with a 164 checkout, but Dobey closed it out with an 87 checkout.
Josh Rock advanced with a 6-3 victory over Keane Barry in the session's final match. Rock broke early with a 158 checkout and held with a 65 to lead 2-0. He extended his lead to 3-1 on double 18 and later hit a 92 checkout to go 4-2 ahead. Barry reduced the gap with a 90 checkout, but Rock sealed the win with a brilliant 128 checkout. Danny Noppert had a tougher time, edging past Oskar Lukasiak 6-5 in a decider.
Other results saw Jermaine Wattimena win the Dutch derby 6-3 over Kevin Doets, Krzysztof Ratajski defeat Mike de Decker 6-4, and Wessel Nijman continue his impressive form with a 6-2 win over Ryan Searle, averaging 104. Nijman recently won his third ProTour title of the year earlier this week.
