Stevenson to open German Darts Championship today
SIMON Stevenson competes in Germany today and has the privilege of playing in the opening match of the £140,000 German Darts Championship, which takes place at Halle 39 in Hildesheim.
He qualified for the event back in February at the Barnsley Metrodome with a 6-3 win over Joe Murnan followed by a 6-4 defeat of Prakash Jiwa.
In the board final, one player standing in his way of a European ticket was Ireland’s Brendan Dolan who Stevenson had met twice before, with each player boasting one win and one defeat.

Simon could not have wished for a better start when he clinched the opening leg in 12, but the 45-year-old from County Fermanagh won the next three in 18, 18 and 13 for a 3-1 lead.
But that was the last leg that the Irishman was to win.
Stevenson stood his ground and never gave his opponent an inch as he reeled off the next five in 16, 14, 18, 14 and 16 for an emphatic 6-3 victory and a 94.7 average.
The Mirror Man will be hoping he can replicate that form when he meets Dave Prins in the first match of the tournament which starts at 12 noon (GMT).
Today's first round will see 32 qualifiers competing, while the seeded players, led by last weekend's European Darts Open winner Michael Van Gerwen, will enter at the second-round stage on Saturday.
The German Darts Championship will be streamed live for all PDCTV-HD subscribers and can also be viewed through a series of bookmakers' websites.
Should Stevenson defeat Prins, a player he has met only once before, in the qualifying round of the 2015 UK Open, he would then have to face the no.9 seed Jonny Clayton tomorrow afternoon.