WORLD CHAMPION Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis were knocked out of the European Darts Open following brilliant displays from Jamie Caven and James Wade in the third round in Dusseldorf on Saturday night.
The last 16 stars returned to the stage at the Maritim Hotel in a bid to win places in Sunday afternoon's decisive final session, which features the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
Last year's Dusseldorf champion van Gerwen suffered a 6-4 defeat to Jamie Caven, the Austrian Darts Open finalist last month who defied a 105 average from the world number one to continue his run of form and progress to the quarter-finals.
Caven will now meet Kevin Painter in the last eight on Sunday afternoon, after the former Players Championship Finals winner made the most of a lacklustre display from Kim Huybrechts to progress with a 6-2 win.
James Wade, who won the Gibraltar Darts Trophy a fortnight ago, recorded a stunning victory over UK Open champion Adrian Lewis, coming from 3-1 down to win 6-4, with an average of 103.46, and ending on a brilliant 141 checkout.
The Gibraltar Darts Trophy champion will now face Gary Anderson, who also hit a 103 average in his 6-3 win over Wes Newton to remain on course for a second European Tour win of 2014.
Australia's number one Simon Whitlock became the first man through to the last eight with victory over Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan. To the delight of strong support amongst the German crowd, Whitlock powered his way to a 6-2 win, hitting three maximums in the process.
Whitlock will play Dave Chisnall on Sunday for a place in the semi-finals, after the sixth seed won four consecutive legs to overcome Mervyn King 6-5.
King paid the price for failing to give himself a dart for the match at 5-2 up, when he sensationally burst his score by hitting treble 20 when he only required 52, allowing Chisnall to capitalise and charge to victory.
World number eight Andy Hamilton edged out Andy Smith in a deciding leg, although the three-time major finalist survived a match dart at double top in the penultimate leg before hitting a magical 140 checkout to take the game to an 11th leg, where he prevailed with a 14-darter.
World Championship runner-up Peter Wright will provide the oppposition for Hamilton in the quarter-finals, after he picked up a 6-2 win over Justin Pipe, which included a 161 checkout on the bullseye.
The European Darts Open will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one session from 1pm local time (12pm BST), and will be streamed live online worldwide through the websites listed below.
Live Coverage
Bet365 - www.bet365.com
Coral - www.coral.co.uk
Ladbrokes - www.ladbrokes.com
Unibet - www.unibet.com
William Hill - www.williamhill.com
To view live coverage, fans must be registered with the respective website listed above
LIVEPDC.TV - www.LIVEPDC.TV for all subscribers outside of the UK & Ireland.
Live Scores will be available through the PDC Live Scores Website, http://live.dartsdata.com .
European Darts Open
European Tour Event Six
Maritim Hotel, Dusseldorf
Saturday July 12
Evening Session
Third Round
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Mervyn King
James Wade 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson 6-3 Wes Newton
Andy Hamilton 6-5 Andy Smith
Peter Wright 6-2 Justin Pipe
Kevin Painter 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Jamie Caven 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Sunday July 13
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Draw Bracket & Order Of Play
Simon Whitlock v Dave Chisnall
James Wade v Gary Anderson
Andy Hamilton v Peter Wright
Kevin Painter v Jamie Caven
Semi-Finals
Whitlock/Chisnall v Wade/Anderson
Hamilton/Wright v Painter/Caven
Final
v
All games are best of 11 legs