Thornton Ready to Continue Resurgence to Form

Robert Thornton is set to take on former Lakeside World Championship finalist Danny Noppert in his opening fixture of the International Darts Open this evening. The Thorn has begun to hit a rich reign of form on the PDC European Tour , with back-to-back Last 16 finishes in both the German Darts Championship and European Matchplay events. Thornton’s recent victories include an impressive 6-3 win over multiple major winner James Wade and a 6-5 over an in-form James Wilson. Next up for the Scotsman is Danny Noppert who has himself reached a European Tour semi-final in 2018. The winner of the match-up has been drawn to face Jermaine Wattimena in Saturday’s 2^nd round. The Thorn’s countryman John Henderson will also take to the stage in Riesa today, as he faces Magnus Caris in his first round match. Gerwyn Price will await the winner in the second round, whilst Peter Wright and Jonny Clayton also enter the competition at the 2nd round stage. [caption id="attachment_27115" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The Highlander takes on Sweden's Magnus Caris in Riesa this evening.[/caption] Schedule of Play Friday September 14 First Round Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST) Steve Lennon v Patrik Kovacs Terry Temple v James Richardson Dirk van Duijvenbode v Mickey Mansell Ron Meulenkamp v Martin Schindler Ricardo Pietreczko v Ryan Searle Barry Lynn v Dawson Murschell Michael Plooy v Steve West Jose Justicia v Jelle Klaasen   Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST) Magnus Caris v John Henderson Robert Thornton v Danny Noppert Ross Smith v Kyle Anderson Terry Jenkins v Matthew Dennant Ryan Joyce v Gabriel Clemens James Wilson v Adam Huckvale Robert Marijanovic v Jan Dekker Steve Beaton v Vincent van der Voort Click here for the full schedule and details from PDC.