MICHAEL SMITH produced the performance of the German Darts Prix so far as he thrashed Chris Dobey 6-2 in Sunday's second round of the PDC European Tour event at the Zenith in Munich.
A four-time European Tour winner, Smith posted a whopping 105.38 average as he stormed to victory to begin his bid for another £25,000 title.
The 27-year-old, who is flying high in the Unibet Premier League, landed seven 180s and finished 38% of his doubles on the way to a place in Monday's third round.
"My form in the Premier League is really helping me - but I'm not playing like did today in the Premier League!" said Smith. "I'm getting by with 93 or 94 averages, not over 100.
"My doubles have been really good though, and if I can do both here than I hope I can go far."
World Champion Rob Cross was also impressive in a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Jonny Clayton, averaging 104.16 in the process.
The Welshman took out a spectacular 161 checkout to lead 3-2, and missed darts to go further ahead before being clawed back by Cross, who was more clinical on the doubles.
Reigning German Darts Grand Prix champion Michael van Gerwen was made to work as he put in a lacklustre display before defeating Irish youngster Steve Lennon in a deciding leg.
Recovering from 4-2 down, Lennon missed two darts to break and throw for the match, allowing Van Gerwen to lead once more at 5-4.
Lennon then forced a decider with an 86 checkout in two darts, but stuttered in the final leg as Van Gerwen hobbled through to face Alan Norris in the third round
An unbelievable display of finishing saw Joe Cullen progress in the first game of the evening session.
Trailing Yordi Meeuwisse 5-4, the 28-year-old fired a 120 checkout to force a decider, before breaking throw and sealing the win with an incredible 164 outshot.
Ian White put in a solid performance, averaging just over 100 as he beat Stephen Bunting 6-4.
James Wade’s resurgence on the European Tour continued as he saw off Jelle Klaasen by the same scoreline to continue his bid for a third title at this level.
Peter Wright, who reached the final of the first European Tour event of 2018 in Leverkusen last weekend, was made to work as he saw off Josh Payne 6-3.
Having had his luggage go missing in transit to Munich, the Premier League star was playing with a set of darts acquired just 15 minutes before his game.
Nevertheless, the former UK Open champion still managed to land five 180s and finish 46% of his doubles as he progressed.
In an incredible afternoon session at the Zenith, six of the eight seeded players crashed out of the competition.
Luke Humphries kicked off the shocks as he averaged over 100 in a resounding victory over Gerwyn Price, whose struggles continue after his Premier League elimination.
In arguably the game of the day, Darren Webster averaged 101.18 and landed three ton-plus checkouts as he recovered from 5-3 down to beat Dave Chisnall.
Home favourite Max Hopp progressed to the final day of European Tour action for the first time in two years as he beat Mervyn King 6-4.
The young German, who has struggled for form in recent times, showed maturity that has often escaped him to recover from 4-3 down to seal the win.
Kim Huybrechts was the next to fall as he lost 6-3 to Steve West, whilst Alan Tabern squeezed past Kyle Anderson 6-5 to progress.
Former World Youth Champion Keegan Brown then fired his highest ever on-stage average with 103.20 as he beat Premier League star Simon Whitlock 6-4, coming from 3-0 down.
Norris bucked the trend for the seeds as he raced past Toni Alcinas 6-1, whilst World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney eased past Ryan Meikle 6-3.
The German Darts Grand Prix concludes on Easter Monday, with the third round in the afternoon session before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening session.
The action will be broadcast for all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide, as well as via a series of bookmakers' websites as detailed below.
2018 German Darts Grand Prix
Monday April 2
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Third Round
Michael Smith v James Wade
Mensur Suljovic v Max Hopp
Joe Cullen v Steve West
Peter Wright v Alan Tabern
Rob Cross v Luke Humphries
Daryl Gurney v Ian White
Keegan Brown v Darren Webster
Michael van Gerwen v Alan Norris
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Smith/Wade v Suljovic/Hopp
Cullen/West v Wright/Tabern
Cross/Humphries v Gurney/White
Brown/Webster v Van Gerwen/Norris
Semi-Finals
v
v
Final
v
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online by all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide - click here to visit PDCTV-HD.
Live coverage with faster streams may also be available at the following bookmakers' websites:
bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian federation, Spain, Ukraine
Napoleonbet - www.en-gb.sports.napoleongames.be - Belgium
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia