The opening night of the Remote Darts League did not disappoint with five excellent matches for action-starved darts fans to get their teeth into. Thousands tuned in with the games streamed live on our You Tube channel: https://bit.ly/RDL2020Watch

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James Richardson 7-4 Alan Norris

Things got underway with James Richardson taking on Alan Norris and it was the man from London who picked up the first win of the competition. Richardson took the opening leg and held the lead throughout the contest. Norris threatened on numerous occasions to claw back his rival but could never draw level despite breaking throw. The to and fro nature of the game ended in the 11th leg when Richardson followed up his 10th leg win and claimed the match 7-4.

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Gary Robson 7-2 Dean Winstanley

Gary Robson went off favourite against Dean Winstanley in the second encounter and those odds were wholly justified with the Northumberland man posting the biggest victory of the night with a 7-2 win. Robson raced into a 5-0 lead as he stifled Winstanley with some fantastic darts and despite a couple of late legs for his opponent Robson killed the game off on the ninth leg. Winstanley struggled with his doubles but was upbeat after the game despite defeat.

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Jim Williams 7-4 Wes Newton

Tournament favourite Jim Williams picked up two points in his opening encounter as he saw off 'Warrior' Wes Newton 7-5. The 2020 BDO world runner up stamped his authority on the match by taking the opening three legs. Newton rallied though to get the match back to 4-3 in the middle part of the contestbefore Williams opened up the throttle to win 7-4 against his patchy opponent.

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Tony O'Shea 6-6 Paul Hogan

Former English teammates Tony O'Shea and Paul Hogan couldn't be separated after the maximum 12 legs in our penultimate contest of the opening evening. As the score suggests the match was tight with all 12 legs going with the throw. Hogan was playing catch up throughout but by securing the final leg he manged to pick up a point and share the spoils with O'Shea. O'Shea was delighted with the draw and takes on his fellow Stockport man Darryl Fitton next.

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Darryl Fitton 7-4 John Walton

Darryl Fitton proved too strong for his longtime rival John Walton on opening night as he strung four straight legs together at the end of the match to win 7-4. Walton, who was the only Night 1 loser to lead their match at any time, complained of a nagging shoulder but must be happy with the opening half of his match where he led at various points.