Championship

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Carson Beck scrambled for a three-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national championship since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) had their vaunted defense picked apart by the sixth-ranked Rebels (13-2) in a wild fourth quarter, falling into a 27-24 hole after Trinidad Chambliss threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright with 3:13 left.

Beck, who won a national title as a backup at Georgia, kept the Hurricanes calm amid the storm, leading them down the field for the winning score — and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19. Beck is 37-5 as a starter, including two seasons at Georgia.

The sixth-seeded Rebels lost their coach before the playoff, but not their cool.

If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Mississippi’s resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.

Ole Miss kept Miami within reach when its offense labored and took a 19-17 lead on Lucas Carneiro’s fourth field goal, from 21 yards.

Malachi Toney, the hero of Miami’s opening CFP win over Texas A&M, turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put Miami up 24-19.

Chambliss’ TD pass to Wright put the Rebels back on top, but the improbable run came to an end when the defense couldn’t hold the Hurricanes.

But what a run it was.

With Pete Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach, and most of the assistants sticking around, the Rebels blew out Tulane to open the playoff and took down mighty Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals.

They faced a different kind of storm in the Hurricanes.

Miami has rekindled memories of its 2001 national championship team behind a defense that went from porous to nearly impenetrable in its first season under coordinator Corey Hetherman.

The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Mississippi to minus-one yard.

One play revved up the Rebels and their rowdy fans.

Kewan Lacy, the nation’s third-leading rusher, burst through a hole up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter — the longest run allowed by Miami’s defense since 2018.

The Hurricanes seemed content to grind away at the Rebels in small chunks offensively, setting up CharMar Brown’s four-yard touchdown run and a field goal.

Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.

Two of Sunday’s Championship matches have been postponed because of frozen pitches, with a number of others called off elsewhere in the EFL.

The 12:00 GMT kick-off between Sheffield United and Oxford United and Portsmouth’s game against Ipswich at 15:00 are both off.

In a statement, the Blades said a referee looked at the Bramall Lane pitch before the scheduled start and found parts of the playing surface were frozen.

The game at Fratton Park was postponed following a pitch inspection at 11:00 GMT.

Nine fixtures have also been called off in League Two and two more have fallen to the freezing weather in League One.

In League One, Doncaster’s meeting with Luton and Rotherham v Mansfield were also called off on Sunday.

In addition to five of Sunday’s League Two fixtures which had already been postponed on Saturday, Barnet v Crewe, Barrow v Bristol Rovers, Colchester v Accrington and Newport v Tranmere failed pitch inspections.

While Littler cruised through, there was no such luck for Van Veen as he beat his idol Anderson in a remarkable match.

It began with the Scot winning the first set against the darts with a 104 average, but any thoughts that Van Veen, 23, might be overawed in his first world semi-final were quickly forgotten as he hit a 10-darter to start the second set.

A stunning average of 113.35 saw him level it at 1-1 with a 117 checkout and was a taster of what was to come in the sets that followed.

Anderson started the next with a 144 checkout but Van Veen hit back once more, hitting six perfect darts to start the deciding leg on his way to an 11-darter.

Somehow, the fifth set took the match to another level again. First, Anderson broke with a 10-darter and hit a 170 checkout to go 2-0 in legs, and a leg from making it 3-2.

Instead, Van Veen made it 4-1 after a 170 checkout of his own forced a deciding leg. He won it and averaged 111.46, while Anderson was left wondering how he had lost a set in which he averaged 117.44.

The 55-year-old’s resilience shone through, though, and with the crowd behind him, he won the next two sets to make it 4-3 and pile the pressure on his younger opponent – who had missed four darts to make it 5-2.

But while both players showed signs that the unrelenting nature of the contest was taking its toll, Van Veen held firm, got himself 5-3 up and then finished strongly with a 13-darter to clinch his place in the final.

“To be in the World Championship final is not even a dream coming true because I wasn’t able to dream about this,” Van Veen, who had not won a match at the World Championship prior to this event, told Sky Sports.

“Now it’s happened and I’m so happy.”

Searle had won 14 consecutive sets without reply to reach his first World Championship quarter-final.

The 38-year-old extended that run to 17 with some clinical finishing in the first three sets against Clayton and a 111 finish in the deciding leg of the fifth, one of his three ton-plus checkouts in the match, helped to secure a spot in the last four.

Clayton scored better for long spells of the quarter-final but too many missed attempts on the outer ring proved costly for the Welsh fifth seed, who landed just 10 of his 40 attempts at doubles (25%).

Searle, in contrast, hit 17 of his 30 attempts (56.7%).

Searle lives with dominant optic atrophy, a genetic eye condition which affects his vision and for which he wears contact lenses.

Speaking to Sky Sports on stage after his win, he said: “I can’t see particularly well.

“Other people who try to play darts, if they can’t see particularly well, try not to let that hold you back.

“I try to be an inspiration to them.”

Nathan Aspinall became the latest seed to fall at the PDC World Championship, but 20-year-old Charlie Manby continued his dream run by reaching the last 16.

Aspinall, who reached the semi-finals in 2019 and 2020, lost 4-3 in a final-set thriller against the Netherlands’ Kevin Doets.

The 15th seed won the first and third sets, but was pegged back on both occasions, only to seize control again with a stunning 170 checkout to claim the fifth set.

However, from there, Doets took over, reeling off sixth consecutive legs to seal a sixth straight win over Aspinall and set up a last-16 tie against world number two Luke Humphries on Tuesday.

Manby, who is playing in the tournament for the first time, overcame Ricky Evans 4-2.

The bricklayer from Huddersfield struggled on his doubles early on, taking out just four of 30 attempts in the first three sets as he went 2-1 down.

Scoring was never an issue though and his accuracy on the checkouts improved, alongside a drop-off from Evans, as he sealed a place in round four and a minimum £60,000 in prize money.

He will face the Netherlands’ Gian van Veen in the next round in what will be his toughest test so far, with the 10th seed having the tournament-high match average of 108.28 in his second-round win.

After the match, Evans posted on Facebook that he had received death threats as well as hate and fat jokes.

Another debutant also progressed with Somerset’s Justin Hood beating Ryan Meikle 4-1.

He raced into a 3-0 lead before Meikle pulled a set back but Hood sealed his place and said afterwards that he would not have to work in 2026 after also confirming at least £60,000 in prize money.

He has climbed to a provisional 63rd in the world rankings already and said post-match he still has aspirations to open a Chinese restaurant one day.

He will face 11th seed Josh Rock in the last 16, after the Northern Irishman overcame Callan Rydz 4-2 in the final third-round tie.

Rydz was emotional throughout following the death of his grandfather since his previous match.

Stephen Bunting said he has been left “hurt” after his son was the victim of online abuse.

World number four Bunting, 40, was knocked out of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday with a dramatic 4-3 loss to world number 63 James Hurrell.

Bunting’s son, 13, was in attendance at Alexandra Palace and was shown regularly on television cameras passionately supporting his father during his dramatic loss in seven sets.

Posting on X for the first time since Saturday’s exit, Bunting said the abuse his son has received has been “hurtful” for the whole family.

“Hi guys. Sorry I’ve had a few days away from my socials but I just needed a small bit of time after my game to recover and rest,” Bunting posted.

“I love my family so much and they give me massive motivation to continue this journey. I still believe I have a lot to give darts over the rest of my career and I want to make them forever proud.

“They see the negative comments and do their best to make sure I don’t see them – and even [my son] has had some hate from some of the trolls online, which really is hurtful for us as a family.

“[He] is one of the nicest kids you could wish to meet and I’ll be doing a lot more social stuff with him this coming year.”

Stephen’s son regularly appears alongside his father at events on and off the oche, including Bunting’s social media pages.

The Bullet’s defeat to Hurrell could cost him an automatic qualification spot for the 2026 Premier League Darts campaign, with Bunting likely to drop outside the world’s top four following his early tournament exit.

Former winner Rob Cross cruised through at the PDC World Championship and set up a last-16 tie against defending champion Luke Littler.

Cross, who won the event in 2018, brushed aside Australian and 16th seed Damon Heta in a comfortable 4-0 win.

The 17th seed was joined in round four by two-time winner Gary Anderson, who edged a final-set thriller against Dutchman Gary Wattimena.

Scot Anderson went 3-1 up in a game played at a ferocious pace, and was impressive in averaging 121 in set three.

He missed three match darts in the fourth set, hitting double eight with his first dart with 32 required, before missing the same target twice.

Wattimena powered back and forced a final set, despite Anderson missing more match darts at tops in set four.

Anderson went eight darts into the nine-darter in the final set, before going high on the double 12, and eventually claimed the set 5-3 to continue his quest to be the tournament’s oldest winner at 55.

He averaged 102.24 – the eighth-highest average in this year’s tournament – and was at 37.5% on the checkouts.

“It’s no good for my age. It’s hard, especially with Jermaine on you. What a game,” Anderson told Sky Sports.

“The last two games, 4-0, 4-0. I hope that’s made up for it. I’m going to lie down now.

“I bottled the nine-darter, like I bottled a lot of doubles. I was getting excited, I don’t often do that up there. But I got it done.”

Sunday’s action began with 20th seed Ryan Searle reaching the fourth round for the first time since 2021 with a 4-0 demolition of Germany’s Martin Schindler.

Horsemen from across Afghanistan converged for the dramatic final match of the nation’s prestigious annual buzkashi tournament on Kabul’s outskirts, attracting crowds that included high-ranking Taliban officials witnessing this centuries-old sporting tradition.

Buzkashi, Afghanistan’s national equestrian competition, showcases elite riders who must carry a leather-wrapped bundle – historically a goat carcass but now a weighted facsimile – across a designated goal line to earn points.

Amid swirling dust clouds kicked up by galloping horses, a victor ultimately prevailed. The winning team took a celebratory circuit around the field, proudly displaying their flag in triumph.

Afghanistan’s cherished buzkashi tournament maintains its status as a traditional sport characterised by limited formal rules and fierce physical competition.

In its classic format, two teams compete to score using what was traditionally a goat carcass, though contemporary matches utilise a leather-and-rope substitute filled with straw to replicate the weight of an animal.

Competitors – with 12 riders on each side – demonstrate extraordinary horsemanship, stretching dangerously from their mounts to retrieve the bundle from the ground before racing towards the goal while pursued by opposing riders.

Though prohibited during the Taliban’s earlier governance in the 1990s, buzkashi experienced a revival following their removal and has continued since their return to power in 2021, with government officials now attending competitions.

In this week’s championship, northern Sar-e-Pul province overwhelmed northeastern Badakhshan with a commanding 7-0 victory, concluding the 11-day national tournament. Baghlan claimed third place, while Kunduz finished fourth among the 11 provincial teams competing.

The competition featured eight international participants from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, according to Atal Mashwani, spokesman for Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports.

Corporate sponsorship from a petrol company funded the tournament, providing automobiles as prizes for the top four teams, alongside trophies, medals, and certificates.

Thousands of male spectators filled the stands at the central Kabul venue, with enthusiastic fans even climbing nearby trees and electricity pylons to gain better vantage points of the action.

Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen says Peter Wright should retire following his emphatic defeat in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.

Two-time world champion Wright won just two legs and averaged below 80 as he was surprisingly beaten by debutant Arno Merk on Tuesday.

Van Gerwen said he was “not surprised by his performance” given the Scotsman’s inconsistent recent record and added that “it’s time for him to retire anyway”.

The 36-year-old Dutchman beat William O’Connor to reach the third round at Alexandra Palace.

Wright, who became world champion in 2020 and 2022, has not made it past the quarter-finals of any televised ranking tournament in the past two years.

The 55-year-old last won a European Tour event in 2024 and a Players Championship in 2022.

Wright was not selected for the 2025 Premier League Darts season and failed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time since 2012.

The Dutchman’s comments follow Wright’s recent suggestion that Van Gerwen’s “vision is probably going”., external

World number 86 Justin Hood beat sixth seed Danny Noppert in an Alexandra Palace classic as three more seeds exited the PDC World Championship on the final day of competition before the Christmas break.

Hood won a sudden-death leg of a high-quality match to progress to the last 32, having missed a dart at the bull to win in straight sets.

Noppert fought back to force a decider and, helped by some clutch ton-plus finishes throughout, created a victory chance for himself in a dramatic final set.

But Hood, the 32-year-old debutant, held his nerve in the final leg to land a 78 finish, setting up a third-round tie with fellow English left-hander Ryan Meikle.

Both players averaged more than 102 and hit more than 40% of their attempts at doubles.

Hood told Sky Sports: “It was a good game and I knew it would be because Danny is a class player.

“I don’t worry about the pressure, I just throw the darts and if it’s good enough, it’s good enough. Tonight it was.”

Seventeen of the 32 seeds have been knocked out in the opening two rounds of the tournament, with Noppert the highest-ranked player to fall so far.

Also beaten on Tuesday were two-time former champion Peter Wright, who lost in straight sets to German debutant Arno Merk, and Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney, who came out on the wrong side of a deciding set with England’s Callan Rydz.

Seventh seed James Wade suffered a fourth successive second-round exit at the PDC World Championship, losing a thrilling tie to fellow Englishman Ricky Evans.

Both players missed match darts in the deciding set, with world number 43 Evans eventually taking it 6-4 in the fifth.

Wade is the highest-ranked seed to be eliminated so far and his defeat, along with Wessel Nijman’s loss earlier on Monday, means 14 of the 32 seeded players have been knocked out.

Dutch 31st seed Nijman lost in straight sets to Germany’s Gabriel Clemens, who reached the semi-finals in 2023.

Elsewhere, Kenyan debutant David Munyua was unable to follow up his shock win over Mike de Decker in round one, winning just two legs in a 3-0 defeat by world number 40 Kevin Doets.

Scotland’s Darren Beveridge was beaten 3-1 by Latvia’s Madars Razma in Monday’s opening match.

Lim met Englishman Humphries in the first round of the 2021 World Championship and, on that occasion, Lim was a 3-2 winner.

The odds of a repeat are unlikely, given Humphries – who is 41 years younger than Lim – has gone on to have a spell of nearly two years as world number one and won multiple major titles, including the world crown in January 2024.

“If anything, I’m thankful for Paul winning that game because it changed me as a player and it changed me as a person,” Humphries said after beating Ted Evetts in round one.

“Three months later, I’d lost about four stones and I was in a major final [at the 2021 UK Open]. It helped my career.”

On those comments, Lim said: “To come across a champion who is as humble as him – when he said that, it was really a compliment to me. I’ve got nothing ever bad to say about Luke.

“With every defeat or every win, there is a spark somewhere – you’ve got to find it to spark you in the right direction. I can’t say that loss made him a world champion, but maybe it created that spark within himself to look at something differently and it turned out well for him.

“He is definitely a different Luke Humphries. He was good then, now he is great. It’s an honour to hear him calling me a legend.”

Joe Cullen says opponent Mensur Suljovic’s slow style of play is akin to cheating after the 32nd seed was knocked out.

Austrian Suljovic denied using any specific tactics in his second-round success.

“I never ever do this as a provocation,” said the 53-year-old. “I do it only for my game. Sorry Joe, I never do this – love you man.”

England’s Cullen won the first set, but became the 11th seed to crash out as he lost the following three, including throwing away a 2-1 lead in the fourth set.

Referring to the way that Suljovic slowed down play, Cullen said in a post on X: “If that’s darts, I don’t want no part of it.

“Always liked Mensur away from the board but that was plain for all to see! I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way. The old guard will say it’s part of the game but word it how you will – it’s cheating. That’s not darts.”

After the match, the 36-year-old shook his head as he picked up his darts case and turned to glare at the Austrian, who celebrated his win in front of the crowd.

The PDC does not have a specific, timed rule for pace of play, but deliberate slow play intended to disrupt an opponent is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and a potential rules breach.

Suljovic is next in line to take on defending champion Luke Littler, who faces David Davies on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, 2018 champion and 17th seed Rob Cross managed to avoid a deciding set against Ian White as he won a nervy encounter 3-1.

Krzysztof Ratajski beat Ryan Joyce 3-1 to reach the third round, while Luke Woodhouse cruised past Max Hopp with a victory in straight sets.

Kenyan debutant David Munyua caused a huge shock at the PDC World Championship, coming from two sets down to beat world number 18 Mike de Decker 3-2 at Alexandra Palace.

It was an enthralling encounter to end the afternoon session on Thursday, with Munyua missing darts to win the second set, doing the same in the third but coming back to win it, edging the fourth and coming back to win the fifth.

The 30-year-old, who qualified via the African Darts Group Qualifier, was broken in the first leg of the decider but produced an astounding outer bull-treble 20-bullseye 135 finish to level the fifth set, before holding his nerve to complete victory.

Another debutant, Japan’s Motomu Sakai, looked to have stolen the show earlier in the afternoon session as he beat Thibault Tricole of France in straight sets.

Sakai gained the support of the Alexandra Palace crowd with a long, exuberant walk-on and was a showman who played up to the fans throughout his match.

Elsewhere, world number 24 Ryan Joyce produced a composed display to see off fellow Englishman Owen Bates, averaging 95.27 and hitting nine of his 14 attempts at double.

Thursday’s other winner was world number 42 Callan Rydz, who only dropped three legs as he comfortably won 3-0 against Hungary’s Patrik Kovacs.

Hardy Nickerson, a Verbum Dei grad who played linebacker at Cal, made the Pro Bowl five times, coached in college and the NFL and did two stints as head coach at Bishop O’Dowd in San Jose, has been named head football coach at JSerra.

Nickerson, 60, becomes the first Black head football coach in the Trinity League since it was formed in 2008.

JSerra is hoping to strike gold like Santa Margarita did in hiring Heisman Trophy winner and 15-year NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, who delivered a Southern Section Division 1 championship and CIF state championship Open Division bowl win this year in his rookie season as head coach. Palmer used his NFL connections to put together a top-notch group of assistant coaches.

Nickerson also has lots of NFL connections and far more coaching experience than Palmer. He once was defensive coordinator at Illinois, served as an NFL assistant with the 49ers, Bears and Buccaneers and and has been head coach at Bishop O’Dowd from 2010-13 and from 2022 through this season, when his team won a state Division 5-AA championship.

He takes over a program that went 3-7 last season and cut ties with former Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz. Nickerson will soon learn that coaching in the Trinity League is similar to college and the NFL, where teams expect to win or there is little assurance of keeping a job for long.

Englishman James Wade began his PDC World Darts Championship campaign with a 3-0 triumph over Ryusei Azemoto, while Raymond van Barneveld suffered a shock first-round exit.

Five-time world champion Van Barneveld looked out of sorts as he went down in straight sets to Stefan Bellmont, the first Swiss winner at Alexandra Palace.

Seventh seed Wade only let one leg slip in a dominant victory against Japan’s Azemoto.

“Tonight showed the practice I’ve been doing. It wasn’t spectacular but when I really needed to hit something, it happened,” said four-time semi-finalist Wade.

He finished with an average of 94.75, compared to Azemoto’s 84.42, and the 42-year-old will take on Ricky Evans in the second round on Monday.

Van Barneveld looked a shadow of the player who won four BDO world titles before lifting the PDC crown in 2007.

The 58-year-old Dutchman took the opening leg but then lost eight in succession.

Despite a higher average than his opponent, he checked out just 25% of his doubles while Bellmont hit 39%.

American debutant Adam Sevada came out on top in the the first game on Wednesday, seeing off Canadian Matt Campbell 3-1.

It was tight for much of their encounter but Sevada’s marginally better performance on doubles made the difference as he won 11 legs to Campbell’s six.

McErlean said securing a second season with M-Sport “means everything” after a solid rookie campaign.

After a late deal to drive in the WRC, McErlean finished seventh on his debut in Monte Carlo and equalled that result in Finland and the Central European Rally.

“I’m incredibly grateful to M-Sport and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy for continuing to believe in me and giving me the chance to build properly,” McErlean said.

“To have another season at this level means a lot. I’m in a completely different place mentally compared to this time last year, stronger, clearer, and ready to enjoy the challenge ahead.

“2025 was all about learning, learning the car, the championship, the rhythm of Rally1, and what it really takes, mentally and physically, to operate at this level week in, week out.

“We made real progress across the season, and I could feel things starting to click more and more as the year went on.”

Millener said McErlean’s progression in his first season was “very clear to see”.

“It’s great to be able to give them the opportunity to continue this upward trajectory.

“Away from the events, they have both become much-valued members of the team and I’m really looking forward to working with them again.”

The deals for McErlean and Armstrong strengthen the links between M-Sport and Motorsport Ireland, and the remainder of the Cumbrian’s outfit’s line-up will be announced in due course.

Cameron Menzies angrily punched a drinks table after a five-set defeat by highly rated Charlie Manby in the first round of the PDC World Championship.

The 26th seed from Scotland hit the underside of the table three times before holding his hand up in apology to the Alexandra Palace crowd as he left the stage.

Menzies, 36, was pictured with blood pouring from a gash on his right hand.

He had led 1-0 and 2-1 in sets before 20-year-old English debutant Manby fought back and clinched victory with his seventh match dart.

Former Premier League champion Glen Durrant – commentating on the subsequent match for Sky Sports – said: “Charlie Manby is a superstar in the making. Sometimes you can build a player up at 20 years old. We thought it was going to be the match of the afternoon and it delivered.

“But it wasn’t the ending we all want to see. For Cameron Menzies, I think he will regret that for the rest of his life. It was not a good watch.”

Co-commentator Stuart Pyke added: “I agree, [it was] an extraordinary reaction but we saw him walking off stage and he did put up his hand in apology. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.

Players can be sanctioned under Darts Regulation Authority rules for aggressive, disruptive or abusive behaviour.

It is the second year running that Menzies has been knocked out in the first round after he broke down in tears during and following his exit to Leonard Gates last December.

Menzies later revealed his father Ricky had been ill in hospital at the time, and spoke before this tournament, external about the recent death of his uncle.

Kumar’s scoring was inferior to Veenstra’s, but his finishing proved crucial, boasting a 75% checkout success and hitting all his last seven doubles.

“I don’t know what to say right now. I’m overwhelmed, I’m happy,” said Kumar, who is nicknamed ‘The Royal Bengal’.

“If you dream it, anything is possible. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship (in 1994).”

Asked about what his victory could do for darts in India, he said: “I’ve opened the floodgates to a billion of them.

“I’m sorry, 10 years down the line if you have eight people in the World Championship walking on to Bollywood music, don’t blame me.”

Veenstra hit five 100-plus finishes, with his highest coming at 144. Kumar was not as flamboyant with his scoring, but proved to be incredibly consistent as the crowd roared him on.

Three-time BDO world champion Glen Durrant said on Sky Sports: “It was one of the greatest games I have ever commentated on.

“It’s not just the quality of the match, it’s the impact for Nitin Kumar and what it does for Indian darts.”

Two seeds exited the competition on Sunday – world number 23 Dimitri van den Bergh and 27th-ranked Ritchie Edhouse.

Belgium’s Van den Bergh was out of sorts from the first dart and was comfortably beaten 3-0 by Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge.

In the afternoon session, Edhouse was knocked out by Jonny Tata, who was also making his first appearance.

Former European champion Edhouse was stunned 3-0 by the New Zealander, to taste defeat at this stage for the fourth time in a row.

But the same fate did not follow fellow seed Joe Cullen after he eased past Bradley Brooks with a 3-0 win.

The world number 32 was in fine form to produce his second-highest average on the world stage with 99.33.

Another debutant, Englishman Dom Taylor, progressed to the second round with a 3-0 win over Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak.

Meanwhile, the evening session saw the Netherlands’ Lukas Wenig beat Wesley Plaiser 3-1 while England’s James Hurrell beat Stowe Buntz by the same scoreline.