Tommy The Tiger stole the show at the inaugural PDC Slovak Darts Open. And I am not talking about an escaped, oddly named feline from a local Bratislava zoo. I’m referring instead to Yorkshire’s Tom Sykes who, on debut, proved that being easily sunburnt wasn’t the only trick on a ginger’s sleeve.

Heading to the right-hand side of the former Czechoslovakia, where the relatively new nation still adopted the original flag colours – red, white and blue – which had existed prior to the divorce, they did away with the triangular theme and went full-on basic horizontal lines. Not something Pythagoras would have been thrilled about.

Anyway, it was Sykes’ first ever appearance on a Euro Tour stage and the Yorkshireman looked like he truly belonged there. Tom produced a superb display to see off reigning Hungarian Darts Trophy champion Niko Springer, thus becoming the first ever red-headed flinger to register a ton-plus average in the history of this event.

Bit of context here. Crucially, it was the first ever staging of a Euro Tour event in Slovakia. And secondly, another player had already crashed through the ton barrier earlier that afternoon. Schindler is next for the Castleford chucker who, for some reason, had a caricature of England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes on the back of his shirt. Baffling.

Speaking of ton-plus averages, that brings me nicely onto Mr Tyler Thorpe.

Unlike Sykes, who has an accent like someone from Emmerdale or Heartbeat after six pints of Yorkshire ale, Tyler hails from Norwich – a place where combine harvesters and tractors are as commonplace on the roads as a Ford Focus. In fact, with Gilding and King clashing in the subsequent match, the Slovak Darts Open had a bit of an East Anglian flavour.

Thorpe – nicknamed The Thunder and not The Thorpedo, which would have sounded better – smashed local-ish star player Karel Sedlacek of Czechia with a blistering display. Oh, as regards the moniker, there’s an Olympic swimmer with that name, isn’t there? Forgot briefly.

The Bratislava bonanza began with a bit of a shock as little Justin Hood was dumped out by Croatian Benjamin Pratnemer. Prior to taking to the stage, in the back players’ area, the Somerset slinger – on a trip to the toilets – believed he had encountered a doppelganger, only to discover it was in fact a mirror. After this display, Hood was left to reflect on how he squandered a 4-1 lead.

Bang On Target Hall of Famer William O’Connor – although I genuinely don’t think he is too arsed about that accolade – continued his fine recent form, defeating recent Pro Tour winner Jeffrey De Graaf in a draw neither man was too keen to see emerge from the hat.

Canada’s Jim Long saw off Superchin, with the Northern Irishman a little off colour. Dave Chisnall survived a scare from home nation qualifier Adrian Dudek – no relation to the former Liverpool goalkeeper – with the Slovakian unable to save Chizzy’s late winner.

There were also triumphs for animated Latvian Madars Razma over Dirk van Duijvenbode. After baffling fans at the World Cup by not going first for his nation, he had no choice this time and it worked a treat. Maybe he will adopt the same game plan tomorrow.

Cammie Menzies had no problem beating home qualifier Gabriel Varaljay who, for his sake, I hope doesn’t solely rely on playing darts to earn an income. I am sure he is a much better player without the pressure of a Euro Tour stage, but he never got close to the Scot.

And lastly, a mention for the most recent Players Championship winner, Rob Cross who, whilst majestic in Wigan, let’s be kind and say did more than enough to see off local chap Juraj Holub, who didn’t really offer any resistance. Whilst his name would earn a lot of points in Scrabble, he’s unlikely to match that figure in this sport. It wasn’t pretty, but Bobby won’t care.

Here are all the results and Saturday’s fixtures, where the seeds all come out to play. And for many, may not fall far from the tree.

ROUND ONE – FRIDAY
Afternoon Session
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-5 Justin Hood
Tyler Thorpe 6-2 Karel Sedlacek
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Mervyn King
Kevin Doets 6-3 Owen Bates
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Jan Sliacky
William O’Connor 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Johan Engstrom
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Adrian Dudek

Evening Session
Madars Razma 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Keane Barry
Rob Cross 6-3 Juraj Holub
Jim Long 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Tom Sykes 6-2 Niko Springer
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Gabriel Varaljay
Joe Cullen 6-3 Peter Kelemen
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Cristo Reyes

ROUND TWO – SATURDAY
Afternoon Session (12pm GMT)
Mike De Decker v William O’Connor
Damon Heta v Kevin Doets
Wessel Nijman v Benjamin Pratnemer
Danny Noppert v Madars Razma
Jermaine Wattimena v Dave Chisnall
Chris Dobey v Tyler Thorpe
Ryan Searle v Kim Huybrechts
Luke Woodhouse v Andrew Gilding

Evening Session (6pm GMT)
Nathan Aspinall v Jim Long
Martin Schindler v Tom Sykes
Gerwyn Price v Cameron Menzies
Gian van Veen v Rob Cross
Michael van Gerwen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Jonny Clayton v Ryan Joyce
Stephen Bunting v Niels Zonneveld
Ross Smith v Joe Cullen