WONDERFUL WILLIAMS HITS BACK AT MUNICH BOOS

By Aaron Nijjar

SCOTT WILLIAMS lapped up the boos in Munich as fans jeered him at the German Grand Prix.

‘Shaggy’ was whistled at and taunted by spectators in the arena before his walk-on at the Euro Tour.

But the showman did not flinch as he averaged a stellar 94 and took out a superb 126 checkout in a 6-4 win over Wessel Nijman.

World No. 36 Williams will now face Josh Rock who he has not beaten in SEVEN meetings.

Former World Championship semi-finalist Williams had a message for the hecklers in the crowd.

He said: “As you can tell, keep doing it. I don’t care.

“It actually makes me play better so if you want me to beat Josh tomorrow you do this. I don’t care you can carry on.”

Williams revealed he was thrilled to reach the second round and believes it’s only a matter of time before he finally defeats practice partner Rock

He added: “I’ve got to win at some point whether it’s now or in a couple of weeks.

“We’ve had some really good games, we’ve had some really not so good games.

“I’m just really happy to be here tomorrow so I don’t have to fly back on Easter weekend.”

The Lincolnshire thrower reached the semi-finals of Players Championship 10 earlier this month — his best run since June 2022.

He beat Luke Littler in the quarters before Rock edged him out 7–5.

Elsewhere Ricardo Pietreczko posted a superb 106 average as he stormed past debutant Adam Paxton.

Martin Schindler was equally impressive, averaging 103 in his 6-3 win over Mario Vandenbogaerde to the delight of the huge home support.

Dirk van Duijvenbode produced a show-stopping 132 checkout to seal his 6-1 victory over Andy Boulton.

The Dutchman pinned the treble 20 and two double 18s, having set it up with a stunning 171 to cap a brilliant final leg.

There was more brilliant match-winning finishing as Krzysztof Ratajski landed a 129 checkout to fend off a spirited fightback from Mensur Suljovic.

Former Champions League winner Suljovic recovered from 5-2 down to force a decider.

In a battle of the elder statesmen, 57-year-old Raymond van Barneveld secured his second round berth as he beat a man one year his senior in Germany’s Michael Rosenauer 6-3.

There was further German disappointment as Rene Eidams and Michael Unterbuchner crashed out at the hands of Gian van Veen and Jermaine Wattimena respectively.

World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker recorded a routine 6-3 win over Swede Johan Engstrom.

In the afternoon session, Kim Huybrechts’ 6-0 victory over Finn Behrens was the pick of the bunch as he produced one of the performances of the day, averaging just shy of 105 and landing a 164 checkout on his way to victory.

The Belgian will now take on seven-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen for a place in the last 16 on Sunday evening.

Cam Crabtree edged past Luke Woodhouse in a last-leg decider.

Cameron Menzies continued his fine form with a 6-4 win over Kevin Doets, while Niels Zonneveld defied a 100 average from Daryl Gurney to celebrate a 6-3 victory.

There were also wins for Mickey Mansell, Madars Razma and Ryan Joyce, who overcame Ritchie Edhouse, Robert Grundy and Andras Borbely in their respective first round ties.

Image by Taylor Lanning.

Sunday April 20

Second Round

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Danny Noppert v Madars Razma

Damon Heta v Ryan Joyce

Andrew Gilding v Gian Van Veen

Ryan Searle v Cameron Menzies

Josh Rock v Scott Williams

Rob Cross v Ricardo Pietreczko

Michael Smith v Krzysztof Ratajski

Joe Cullen v Mickey Mansell

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

James Wade v Niels Zonneveld

Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld

Dave Chisnall v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Michael van Gerwen v Kim Huybrechts

Luke Littler v Cam Crabtree

Peter Wright v Mike De Decker

Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler

Ross Smith v Jermaine Wattimena