Luke Littler cruised via to the final 16 of the Flanders Darts Trophy with a whitewash win over Dylan Slevin on Saturday, whereas Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock early exit.
Day Two of the yr’s tenth European Tour occasion noticed 16 second-round matches happen on an epic day of motion on the Antwerp Xpo, as Littler returned to Belgium in imperious trend.
Gian van Veen struck an enormous upset, defeating his idol and quantity two seed Van Gerwen 6-3, aided by 4 180s.
For Littler, the world champion hit 100 per cent of his doubles and averaged over 101 to report the primary 6-0 win of the weekend over Slevin.
Littler, who received the Lecot Belgian Darts Open in Wieze earlier this yr, has his sights on a second European Tour title of the yr.
“When I came up on stage, it just felt like home,” stated Littler, who will play Ryan Searle within the final 16. “I really like coming right here. I am glad to play properly tonight and now I can deal with tomorrow.
“I want to win here, but it’s only my first game. Six out of six on the doubles, I don’t usually get that, so I’m very happy.”
Stephen Bunting additionally impressed in Antwerp, averaging over 107 in his mesmerising 6-1 rout of Joe Cullen. The Bullet will face Josh Rock within the final 16 in a mouth-watering tie.
Mario Vandenbogaerde was the one Belgian participant to progress on Saturday, as he ran out 6-3 victor over Jonny Clayton. He’ll face Danny Noppert in his first-ever European Tour finals day.
Leon Weber triggered an enormous upset when he defeated reigning Flanders Darts Trophy holder Dave Chisnall 6-4, incomes the 22-year-old German a final 16 tie towards James Wade.
Wade eased previous Antwerp-born Kim Huybrechts 6-3, and Martin Schindler eradicated Mike De Decker 6-3 regardless of a 170 checkout from the Belgian primary.
World Cup of Darts winners Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney each edged via to finals day with 6-5 wins over Karel Sedlacek and Ross Smith respectively, as each Northern Irishmen survived two match darts.
Mensur Suljovic hit seven maximums and 60 per cent of his doubles throughout a high-quality affair towards Rob Cross, with the Austrian icon triumphing 6-5 after a last-leg decider.
Luke Woodhouse cruised 6-1 previous a below-par Peter Wright – because the Scot averaged below 75 – and Woodhouse will face Suljovic within the final 16.
Seeds continued to topple as Krzysztof Ratajski, who entered the event from the reserve listing, averaged over 98 to beat Chris Dobey 6-3.
Danny Noppert – like Littler – hit 100 per cent of his doubles as he defeated fellow Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4, while Ryan Searle got here again from 4-1 all the way down to beat Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 in a last-leg decider.
Damon Heta comfortably noticed previous Christian Kist 6-3, organising a final 16 tie with Ryan Joyce, who progressed to finals day with a Bye after Gerwyn Worth pulled out with an contaminated hand.
Flanders Darts Trophy schedule and outcomes
Friday August 29
First spherical – 12pm (UK time)
Leon Weber 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Dylan Slevin 6-3 Francois Schweyen
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Johan Engstrom
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Lukas Wenig
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Steve Lennon
Christian Kist 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Gian van Veen 6-2 Adam Gawlas
First spherical – 6pm
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-5 Michael Smith
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Joe Cullen 6-1 Ian White
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Wessel Nijman
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Jeffrey De Graaf
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Callan Rydz
Mike De Decker 6-3 Martin Lukeman
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Xanti Van den Bergh
Saturday August 30
Second spherical – 12pm
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Rob Cross
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Peter Wright
Leon Weber 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Josh Rock 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
Damon Heta 6-3 Christian Kist
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Chris Dobey
Danny Noppert 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Second spherical – 6pm
James Wade 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Searle 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Ross Smith
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Joe Cullen
Luke Littler 6-0 Dylan Slevin
Gian van Veen 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Martin Schindler 6-3 Mike De Decker
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Sunday August 31
Final 16 – 12pm
Luke Littler vs Ryan Searle
Damon Heta vs Ryan Joyce
Danny Noppert vs Mario Vandenbogaerde
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Daryl Gurney
Gian van Veen vs Martin Schindler
James Wade vs Leon Weber
Stephen Bunting vs Josh Rock
Mensur Suljovic vs Luke Woodhouse
6pm
Quarter-Finals*
Semi-Finals*
Last
*Sunday’s video games performed in Draw Bracket order
Flanders Darts Trophy Prize Money
- First spherical: £1,250
- Second spherical: £2,500
- Final 16: £4,000
- Quarter-finals: £6,000
- Semi-finals: £8,000
- Runner-up: £12,000
- Champion: £30,000
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