Dutch favourite Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock second-round exit at the Dutch Darts Championship on Saturday, losing 6-5 to Irishman William O’Connor.
The defeat extends Van Gerwen’s poor run of form, having lost his opening match at four European Tour events this season before arriving in Maastricht: the European Darts Trophy, German Darts Grand Prix, Flanders Darts Trophy and Swiss Darts Trophy. It marks his most first-round exits in a single season since the tour began in 2012.
O’Connor produced a superb display, firing in three ton-plus checkouts of 136, 131 and 121 to seal his victory and book his place in round three.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Gerwyn Price’s return to the stage ended in glory as he beat Scott Williams 6-3, while Gian van Veen broke the European Tour record average.
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Martin Schindler and Stephen Bunting also jumped into the qualification spots for Dortmund.
Van Veen averaged a staggering 120.24 in whitewashing Sebastian Bialecki, breaking the previous record of 118.66 by Dave Chisnall.
Schindler sealed his spot at the European Championships later this month with his victory over Karel Sedlacek.
Bunting left it late to secure his place at the European Championship, beating already-qualified Cameron Menzies 6-2 to book his spot. The former Masters champion needed a strong finish to get over the line.
The 41-year-old pinned six out of ten attempts at the outer ring in his victory over the Scot, and jumped into the qualifying places, knocking Kim Huybrechts out of the running.
Dutchman Gian van Veen broke the European Tour record average on Saturday
Brendan Dolan remains the only player capable of pushing Sedlacek out of the European Championship qualifying spots after beating Heine Uuldriks 6-4. The Northern Irishman had led 4-1 before being pegged back.
Nathan Aspinall ended Michael Smith’s hopes of qualifying for Dortmund with a dominant 6-1 victory. The World Grand Prix semi-finalist averaged over 102 to dispatch the former world champion.
Wessel Nijman and Danny Noppert also secured their places in Sunday’s action, with the Dutch pair defeating Jeffrey De Graaf and Dave Chisnall respectively.
Niels Zonneveld edged a last-leg decider against Krzysztof Ratajski, hitting seven maximums for the second consecutive match to book his place in round three. Fellow Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena also progressed, beating Host Nation Qualifier Jimmy van Schie 6-2.
European Tour ranking leader Ross Smith will face Ryan Searle in round three after overcoming Ryan Joyce and Dirk van Duijvenbode respectively.
Damon Heta averaged over 103 in a dominant 6-1 victory over Jonny Clayton, securing his first win against the Welshman since May last year.
Luke Woodhouse also booked his place in Sunday’s action with a comfortable victory over Andrew Gilding.
Cristo Reyes brought the evening’s action to a close in style, averaging over 110 in a 6-2 win against Chris Dobey while converting 60 per cent of his attempts at double.
The Dutch Darts Championship concludes with a bumper double session on Sunday, as the final 16 players battle it out for the title in Maastricht.
Dutch Darts Championship schedule and results
All times UK and Ireland
Sunday October 18
Round three (12pm)
Gian van Veen vs Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle vs Ross Smith
William O’Connor vs Luke Woodhouse
Danny Noppert vs Jermaine Wattimena
Gerwyn Price vs Niels Zonneveld
Wessel Nijman vs Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta vs Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting vs Nathan Aspinall
Evening session (6pm)
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Saturday October 17
Round two
Martin Schindler 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Jeffrey De Graaf
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Andrew Gilding
Ross Smith 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Danny Noppert 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Heine Uuldriks
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Scott Williams
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Jimmy van Schie
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Cameron Menzies
Gian van Veen 6-0 Sebastian Bialecki
William O’Connor 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Damon Heta 6-1 Jonny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Michael Smith
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Chris Dobey
Friday October 16
Round one
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Callan Rydz
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Nick Kenny
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Jonas Masalin
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Max Hopp
Ryan Joyce 6-0 Owen Bates
Heine Uuldriks 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 James Hurrell
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Daryl Gurney
William O’Connor 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Scott Williams 6-5 Niko Springer
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Mike De Decker
Jimmy van Schie 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Krzysztof Kciuk
Damon Heta 6-4 Maikel Verberk
Michael Smith 6-5 Stephen Burton
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