Cristo Reyes produced a magical nine-dart end throughout the second spherical of the Elten Security Footwear Austrian Darts Open, the place Gian van Veen suffered a shock early exit.
Seven seeds have been despatched packing on Saturday on the Stadthalle, the place Reyes stole the headlines after firing an ideal leg throughout his victory over Australian No 1 Damon Heta.
The Spaniard has been a revelation since reclaiming his PDC Tour Card in January and he delivered one other stellar exhibiting in Austria, averaging 101.89 and hitting six 180s to seal a 6-4 success.
Reyes raised the roof together with his nine-dart exploits in leg 4, earlier than defying a valiant fightback from Heta to wrap up proceedings with a superb 11-darter.
“I feel very happy,” mirrored Reyes, who will face fifth seed Danny Noppert for a spot within the quarter-finals. “When I hit the nine-darter I got more nervous, but this is amazing. I want to say thank you to this fantastic crowd.”
Michael van Gerwen additionally impressed in a bumper night session, averaging 103.41 and changing a trio of ton-plus checkouts to defeat Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 and open his bid for a fifth Austrian Darts Open crown.
Van Gerwen will set his sights on a showdown towards two-time European champion Rob Cross, who overcame William O’Connor by the identical scoreline in Saturday’s afternoon session.
Dutch famous person Van Gerwen is the highest-ranked participant left standing in Graz after high seed Van Veen was crushed in a last-leg decider by Latvian No 1 Madars Razma.
Van Veen crashed out alongside his fellow countryman Wessel Nijman, who was blown away by a rampant Niko Springer in a battle between two of the game’s most explosive abilities.
Elsewhere, James Wade produced a virtuoso show to finish the hopes of Austrian icon Mensur Suljovic, averaging 103 and conjuring up a hat-trick of 11-darters en path to a dominant 6-2 win.
Reigning champion Martin Schindler additionally superior in convincing type, firing in six maximums and reeling off 5 consecutive legs from 2-1 adrift to comb apart a struggling Peter Wright.
Kim Huybrechts maintained his resurgence with a sensational deciding-leg win over Chris Dobey, following up a 10-dart break with a panoramic 132 end on the bull to overturn a 5-4 deficit.
The Belgian will play Andrew Gilding within the final 16 after the 2023 UK Open champion averaged 100.92 in his 6-4 success towards former European Championship runner-up Jermaine Wattimena.
Ross Smith – runner-up to Schindler in final yr’s match – averaged north of 102 in disposing of Niels Zonneveld whereas Luke Woodhouse additionally averaged over a ton in his 6-1 thrashing of Rob Owen.
Northern Eire’s World Cup champions Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney additionally safely superior to Finals Day, courtesy of 6-3 victories towards Patrik Kovacs and Ian White respectively.
Josh Rock is thru to the final 16 in Austria
Kevin Doets celebrated a primary profession victory over Ryan Searle to ebook a tie towards Ryan Joyce, who condemned Mike De Decker to a sixth consecutive defeat on the European Tour. Danny Noppert completes the final 16 line-up after surviving three match darts to sink Alan Soutar in a gruelling final leg.
The Austrian Darts Open continues from 1200 BST on Sunday because the remaining 16 gamers battle it out within the afternoon, earlier than the match concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and ultimate in a blockbuster night session.
Austrian Darts Open: Saturday’s outcomes
Afternoon Session
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Mike De Decker
Rob Cross 6-3 William O’Connor
Kevin Doets 6-2 Ryan Searle
Ross Smith 6-3 Niels Zonneveld
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Damon Heta
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Rob Owen
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Chris Dobey
Night Session
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Ian White
Josh Rock 6-3 Patrik Kovacs
James Wade 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Danny Noppert 6-5 Alan Soutar
Madars Razma 6-5 Gian van Veen
Martin Schindler 6-2 Peter Wright
Niko Springer 6-0 Wessel Nijman
Austrian Darts Open: Sunday’s schedule
Spherical Three (from 1200 BST)
Kevin Doets v Ryan Joyce
James Wade v Luke Woodhouse
Kim Huybrechts v Andrew Gilding
Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
Danny Noppert v Cristo Reyes
Josh Rock v Niko Springer
Ross Smith v Martin Schindler
Madars Razma v Daryl Gurney
Night Session (From 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Ultimate
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