The UK Qualifier saw 80 players competing for spots in the year’s first £135,000 European Tour event, which will be held in Hildesheim from March 24-26..

Former European Tour winner Mervyn King headlined the 18 UK Qualifiers for the HappyBet German Darts Championship on Friday night, as Ryan Meikle landed a nine-dart finish in Barnsley. Experienced star King, a European Tour winner in 2014, defeated South Africa’s Warrick Scheffer and emerging star Rob Cross as he secured his spot in Hildesheim.

Paul Nicholson, a European Tour runner-up four years ago who won back his Tour Card in January, overcame Robert Thornton and Harry Robinson as he qualified. Former World Championship finalists Kevin Painter and Kirk Shepherd progressed at the expense of John Henderson and Dennis Smith in their respective deciders.

Another former European Tour winner, Raymond van Barneveld – who competed in the UK Qualifier due to the clash of the West Europe Qualifier with his Betway Premier League commitments – was defeated 6-4 by John Bowles in their decider as the Widnes thrower secured a spot in Germany.

The night was a memorable one for Ryan Meikle, the Suffolk left-hander who hit a nine-dart finish during a narrow win over Robbie Green before qualifying in a deciding leg against Darron Brown. Scotland’s Jamie Bain and Ireland’s Mick McGowan also went the distance in their deciding matches, against Nathan Aspinall and Darren Webster respectively.

Brazil’s Diogo Portela defeated Andy Hamilton, Simon Preston and Justin Pipe to earn his European Tour debut alongside Ryan Searle and Chris Quantock, who have both stepped up from the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour this year. Suffolk’s Stephen Burton, who won a Tour Card in January, enjoyed success in his first European Tour Qualifier with wins over James Wilson and Simon Stevenson.

Darren Johnson knocked out former European Tour winner Steve Beaton in their decider, while David Pallett, Adam Hunt, Paul Harvey and Richie Corner also qualified. Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski and Finland’s Veijo Viinikka came through the respective East Europe Qualifier and PDCNB Qualifiers, with the final field for the German Darts Championship to be confirmed on March 23 with the West Europe Qualifier and Host Nation Qualifier.

The HappyBet German Darts Championship will be streamed for PDCTV-HD Subscribers via www.livepdc.tv, and through a series of bookmakers’ websites from March 24-26.

For any players who qualify, please go to the calendar area for all the information on this event including, travel, hotels and event brief. CLICK HERE

ET1 German Darts Championship

March 24th – 26th Hildesheim

Top 16 – Seeded To Round Two
1 Michael van Gerwen, 2 Peter Wright, 3 Mensur Suljovic, 4 Benito van de Pas, 5 Dave Chisnall, 6 Simon Whitlock, 7 Alan Norris, 8 Ian White, 9 James Wade, 10 Kim Huybrechts, 11 Gerwyn Price, 12 Jelle Klaasen, 13 Michael Smith, 14 Joe Cullen, 15 Stephen Bunting, 16 Cristo Reyes

ET1 German Darts Championship – UK Qualifier

Friday March 10, Barnsley Metrodome

First Round

Ryan Searle 6-4 Richie Burnett
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Jim Walker
William O’Connor 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Ricky Evans 6-0 Aden Kirk
Jonathan Worsley 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Simon Stevenson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Rob Cross 6-3 Shaun Griffiths
Brian Woods 6-1 John Norman Jnr
Diogo Portela 6-2 Andy Hamilton
Mark Barilli 6-1 Tony Newell
Darron Brown 6-2 Gary Stone
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Peter Hudson
Andy Boulton 6-3 Terry Temple
Richard North 6-3 Callan Rydz
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Paul Rowley 6-4 James Richardson
Lee Bryant 6-3 Callum Loose
John Bowles 6-5 Matt Clark
David Pallett 6-2 Ted Evetts
Ross Twell 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Jamie Lewis 6-2 Matthew Dennant
Richie Corner 6-5 Craig Gilchrist
Alan Tabern 6-4 Steve Hine
Kevin Painter 6-5 Ricky Williams
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Ray Campbell
Ritchie Edhouse 6-3 Scott Taylor

Second Round

Kyle Anderson 6-2 Andy Parsons
Ryan Searle 6-5 Wes Newton
Jamie Bain 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Steve Beaton 6-1 Steve Lennon
Darren Johnson 6-2 William O’Connor
Kirk Shepherd 6-4 Steve West
Dennis Smith 6-5bRicky Evans
Chris Dobey 6-3 Michael Barnard
Jonathan Worsley 6-2 Keegan Brown
Stephen Burton 6-5 James Wilson
Simon Stevenson 6-4 Mick Todd
Mervyn King 6-1 Warrick Scheffer
Rob Cross 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Robert Thornton
Harry Robinson 6-1 Brian Woods
Justin Pipe 6-3 Scott Darbyshire
Diogo Portella 6-2 Simon Preston
Darrren Webster 6-3 Ryan Palmer
Mick McGowan 6-3 Mark Barilli
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Robbie Green (Ryan Meikle 9 darter in leg 7)
Darron Brown 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Chris Quantock 6-2 Josh Payne
Andy Boulton 6-5 Richard North
Paul Harvey 6-2 Jamie Caven
Paul Rowley 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Jim Brown
John Bowles 6-3 Lee Bryant
Mark Webster 6-1 Robert Owen
David Pallett 6-3 Ross Twell
Joe Murnan 6-3 Dean Forde
Richie Corner 6-4 Jamie Lewis
John Henderson 6-3 Peter Jacques
Kevin Painter 6-4 Alan Tabern
Adam Hunt 6-1 Devon Petersen
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Ronnie Baxter

Board Final

Ryan Searle 6-2 Kyle Anderson Ryan Searle qualifies
Jamie Bain 6-5 Nathan Aspinall Jamie Bain qualifies
Darren Johnson 6-1 Steve Beaton Darren Johnson qualifies
Kirk Shepherd 6-3 Dennis Smith Kirk Shepherd qualifies
Chris Dobey 6-4 Jonathan Worsley Chris Dobey qualifies
Stephen Burton 6-3 Simon Stevenson Stephen Burton qualifies
Mervyn King 6-4 Rob Cross Mervyn King qualifies
Paul Nicholson 6-4 Harry Robinson Paul Nicholson qualifies
Diogo Portela 6-4 Justin Pipe Diogo Portela quailfies
Mick McGowan 6-5 Darren Webster Mick McGowan qualifies
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Darron Brown Ryan Meikle qualifies
Chris Quantock 6-4 Andy Boulton Chris Quantock qualifies
Paul Harvey 6-3 Paul Rowley Paul Harvey qualifies
John Bowles 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld John Bowles qualifies
David Pallett 6-2 Mark Webster David Pallett qualifies
Richie Corner 6-4 Joe Murnan Richie Corner qualifies
Kevin Painter 6-4 John Henderson Kevin Painter qualifies
Adam Hunt 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse Adam Hunt qualifies