Jules van Dongen was the second American in action at the Ally Pally, taking on Australian Darren Penhall.

Penhall won the cork backstage, and threw first. It served him well too, as he won the first leg in 14 darts with van Dongen on 40 after 12. In fact, the cork served him well throughout the first set, as every leg went with the throw, with the Aussie posting legs of 14, 14, and 15.

The man from Missouri took the first leg of the second set in just 12 darts (180, 140, 58, 123). He wired a 146 check next leg, and didn’t get another shot. Jules won the next in 14, and clinched the set in 17 to make it all-square. If we thought that was going to spur him on, we were wrong, and the Aussie regained the lead in straight legs.

Penhall edged ahead against the throw, and then held serve. Van Dongen wasn’t finished quite yet, and fought back to capture the third. Up against it, he had to break throw to stay in the match. Sadly, Penhall opened 60, 180, 180, and checked out the required 81 for a 12-darter. It wasn’t that Jules did anything wrong, but his opponent hit the right shots at the right time.

Two Americans played, two Americans gone. It’s up to Alex Spellman now, and he’s on stage on Wednesday.

Full details from the PDC website here

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