The first match of the evening was between Luke Woodhouse, ranked 44th and 84th in the world, and James Wilson. At the start of the match they were not much different from each other and what was particularly remarkable was that the two played particularly strongly on the leg that was allowed to start. Thus the match was fully over even after two sets.

Then the 33-year-old Woodhouse just had his own set first. This has not been easy for ‘Udi’. It took a decisive leg, but Wilson did not give up that leg.

Wilson was allowed to start the fourth set, but had to watch ‘Jimmy Dodger’ brush off 128 runs from his opponent’s board. With that, Wilson lost hope for a good result, and a few minutes later Woodhouse threw a high end. It ended at 116, which immediately marked the end of the race.

Strong introductory Rodriguez

For Rusty-Jack Rodriguez, this will be his first World Cup. From the beginning, the young Austrian showed that he was as talented as his slightly older brother, Rauby-Jan. However, his opponent in New Zealand, Ben Rob, put up a lot of opposition early in the match. After playing two sets and ten legs, the match was equal here.

Rodriguez, who was allowed to extinguish 21 candles in four days, received it at his waist in the third set. Order of Merit No. 91 ‘Big Rick’ left the opportunity to win the set 3-0. Rodriguez then maintained that balance in the fourth set. Rob was allowed to win one leg, but that did not affect Rodriguez’s victory.