European Darts Matchplay Day Two Ⅰ

21-year-old Austrian Rodriguez lost the first leg but brought the local fans to their feet by reeling off four legs in succession as he punished Whitlock for a spate of missed doubles.

Whitlock held his nerve to finish with 80 in leg six but the respite was temporary as Rodriguez pushed further ahead, winning leg seven after Whitlock missed an open double 10 bed with all three darts.

The dogged Australian took leg eight comfortably, but on his own throw Rodriguez sealed victory with the help of his third 180 as he moved into the third round on Sunday afternoon.

"It felt great having the crowd supporting me like this," beamed Rodriguez. "I didn't feel there was pressure on me because everyone was supporting me and I am happy to get through."

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, who had come through the European Qualifier for the event, produced a clinical display to dispatch Stephen Bunting 6-2.

Breaks of throw in the third and seven legs, and a 50 percent checkout record were enough for the Dutch legend who averaged 105.64.

Van Barneveld will meet compatriot and top seed Michael van Gerwen on Sunday, after the world number one defeated Belgian Ronny Huybrechts in their second round contest.

Van Gerwen's average over the first three legs touched 120 as he took Huybrechts to task, but the Belgian stemmed the tide by winning three legs of his own before double three took van Gerwen to within a leg of victory and a 62 check-out saw him over the line.

Elsewhere, Alan Norris produced a sensational comeback to defeat second seed and last week's European Tour winner Michael Smith.

Smith, fresh from lifting the trophy in Muelheim, stormed in to a 4-0 lead and looked set for a routine path in to the last 16 before missed doubles proved costly.

He missed eight attempts at tops as Norris capitalised with a gutsy victory to progress through to the final day of a European Tour event for the second time.

Smith had a bounce out of the bull for a 170 finish in the third leg, which he won anyway, but after he wired tops for a 107 in the fifth leg, Norris stepped in and capitalised on his opponent's wasteful finishing.

"I got myself in front after a poor start and I performed better than yesterday in front of a fantastic crowd, so on to the next one," Norris said afterwards.

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