Hungarian Darts Trophy: Michael Smith beaten by Jonny Clayton on night one while Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld progress | Darts News
World No 2 Michael Smith was the big casualty on night one of the Hungarian Darts Trophy after he was knocked out by Jonny Clayton.
Smith, who lost to Luke Littler in the World Series of Darts Finals on Sunday in Amsterdam, went down 6-3 to his Welsh opponent.
Clayton raced into a three-leg lead in Budapest and sent down four 180s alongside a 94.17 average as Smith suffered a first-round exit despite a brief rally.
Top seed and defending champion Dave Chisnall is next up for Clayton.
Peter Wright was able to edge out Joe Cullen in a decider and is joined in round two by Raymond van Barneveld after his 6-3 victory over Ritchie Edhouse. The Dutchman will face Ross Smith on Saturday.
Nathan Aspinall, James Wade and Andrew Gilding were other notable first-round winners, while Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price begin their campaigns on Saturday.
Speaking on Love The Darts, Devon Petersen recalls the first time he saw Phil Taylor in the flesh in South Africa
What’s next on Sky Sports?
The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is next on the Sky Sports darting calendar.
The annual £600,000 tournament will take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete for the coveted title which was won by Luke Humphries.
Humphries celebrated his maiden TV ranking title with victory over Gerwyn Price in last year’s tournament, and the world No 1 will return to defend his title later this year.
Luke Littler hit a pair of sensational back-to-back checkouts of 140 and 130 to take the lead on his way to claiming his maiden World Series of Darts Finals title in Amsterdam
Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also set to star, with teenage superstar Luke Littler poised to make his double-start debut in the East Midlands.
In a change to last year’s format, Saturday’s semi-finals on October 12 will be contested over the best of nine sets, with the final set to be played over the best of 11 sets on Sunday, October 13.
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