Luke Littler demolished Joe Cullen whereas defending champion Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Worth and world No 1 Luke Humphries all superior to the third spherical of the Hungarian Darts Trophy.
World champion Littler eased to a 6-1 rout of Cullen with 5 180s and hitting six from eight makes an attempt on the doubles as he reached the final 16 in Budapest with a 94.5 common.
The 18-year-old, who warmed up for this weekend’s match by passing his driving concept take a look at, produced a glowing 12-darter to wrap up the emphatic win over 2022 champion Cullen.
Littler will face Germany’s Martin Schindler after ‘The Wall’ reeled off 5 consecutive legs to dispatch birthday boy Ryan Joyce 6-2.
Van Gerwen kicked off his defence of the title with a snug 6-2 win over Matthew Dennant, regardless of 20 missed darts at doubles.
MVG, who ended his two-year await a premier title in Amsterdam final weekend, will tackle Danny Noppert in an all-Dutch tie on Sunday.
Worth, the 2021 champion, transformed a shocking 145 end on his option to a 6-2 success towards Richard Veenstra.
The Welshman will now tackle the doyen of Dutch darts, Raymond van Barneveld, in a humdinger of a tie.
‘Barney’ averaged simply shy of 108 to dispatch 2023 champion Dave Chisnall and increase his hopes of World Grand Prix qualification earlier within the day.
“Today it just clicked,” mirrored Van Barneveld, who was irrepressible from begin to end on the MVM Dome, registering 5 180s and changing a simple 144 checkout to cap off a classic show.
“I went back to the shorter stems a couple of weeks ago and I feel more positive.
“Fairly often I do not handle to take my type from the apply room on to the stage, however immediately it labored and I am actually proud of this win.”
World No 1 Humphries defied a median of 99 from former World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall to win 6-4 and start his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles, touchdown 68, 72 and 130 combos within the latter phases of the competition.
The previous world champion will now renew his rivalry with World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, who received via a one-sided affair towards Tom Bissell in Saturday’s finale.
Josh Rock defied 124, 126 and 161 finishes from Ricardo Pietreczko to triumph in a high-quality encounter, as he units his sights on reaching a 3rd straight European Tour remaining.
Thibault Tricole now awaits Rock in spherical three, after the French thrower survived eight match darts and fought again from 5-2 all the way down to have a good time a landmark win towards fourth seed Stephen Bunting.
Spherical Three will happen on Sunday afternoon, earlier than the match concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and remaining in a bumper night session.
2025 Hungarian Darts Trophy
Saturday September 20
Spherical Two Outcomes
Afternoon session
Martin Schindler 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Ross Smith
Danny Noppert 6-5 Rob Owen
Chris Dobey 6-3 Darren Beveridge
Rob Cross 6-3 Daryl Gurney
James Wade 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Peter Wright
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Dave Chisnall
Night session
Niko Springer 6-1 Damon Heta
Gerwyn Worth 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Matthew Dennant
Luke Littler 6-1 Joe Cullen
Luke Humphries 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Thibault Tricole 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Josh Rock 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko
Mike De Decker 6-2 Tom Bissell
Sunday September 21
Afternoon session (1200 BST)
Spherical Three
Chris Dobey vs Cameron Menzies
Michael van Gerwen vs Danny Noppert
Gerwyn Worth vs Raymond van Barneveld
Luke Littler vs Martin Schindler
James Wade vs Kim Huybrechts
Josh Rock vs Thibault Tricole
Rob Cross vs Niko Springer
Luke Humphries vs Mike De Decker
Night session (1800 BST)
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Closing
What’s subsequent on Sky Sports activities?
The 2025 BoyleSports World Grand Prix will happen on the Mattioli Area, Leicester, from October 6-12, as 32 of the world’s prime stars compete in one of many sport’s most prestigious tournaments.
Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries are set to be joined by world champion Luke Littler within the area in addition to defending champion Mike De Decker, who stormed to victory in 2024.
Sky Sports activities is the house of darts, together with the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts. Stream darts contract-free with NOW.