ROBERT MARIJANOVIC produced the performance of the day with a 6-3 win over Jermaine Wattimena at the European Darts Matchplay, as the European Tour event began in Hamburg on Friday.
The German ace, playing in his second European Tour event of the year, threw an impressive 101.28 average to progress to the second round of the weekend's £135,000 event.
Marijanovic was one of four German qualifiers to claim first round victories as he started the game in blistering fashion, racing into a 4-0 lead over in-form Wattimena, who made back-to-back Players Championship semi-finals earlier this month.
The Dutchman fought back to reduce the deficit to 4-3, but it was to be Marijanovic's day as he reeled off the last two legs to the delight of the German crowd, and set up a round two tie with fourth seed Daryl Gurney.
"It is an amazing feeling to win in front of this crowd," said Marijanovic, who won his Tour Card at the start of the year.
"I am so pleased that I performed on such a big stage and now I want to keep up this level.
"I can't wait to play in front of this great crowd again tomorrow and if I keep playing well I could go far this weekend."
Fellow-German Max Hopp also delighted the Hamburg crowd, defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 to set up a meeting with Players Championship 16 winner Ian White in tomorrow's second round.
Hopp's World Cup of Darts teammate Martin Schindler secured his passage to the last 32 with an emphatic 6-1 triumph over Dutchman Mario Robbe and he will now face Joe Cullen.
Maik Langendorf was the fourth German qualifier to progress to the second day of action, seeing off PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit leader Michael Barnard 6-1 to set up a clash with Gerwyn Price.
Michael van Gerwen will face in-form Ryan Joyce, who also recorded a 6-1 win over Mark Wilson, while second seed Michael Smith will take on Jelle Klaasen after the Dutch star's much-needed 6-3 win over Dragutin Horvat.
Rene Eidams was the only other German player who failed to make it through to the second round, as he went down to Robert Thornton, who will now meet James Wilson.
The final game of the night saw Luke Humphries hold his nerve to claim a vital 6-5 win over Ronny Huybrechts and he will now play Darren Webster.
Andy Boulton beat Cristo Reyes 6-4 to set up a tie with in-form Steve Beaton, while Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas will meet Stephen Bunting after his 6-2 win against Belgian youngster Mike De Decker.
Chris Dobey powered through to round two with a 6-1 victory over Jamie Bain and he will now take on Kim Huybrechts.
World Champion Rob Cross will face Wiliam O'Connor after his 6-1 triumph over Martin Atkins, while Justin Pipe kept his hopes of making the World Matchplay alive with a 6-3 victory over Vincent van der Voort and he will now play Simon Whitlock.
Paul Rowley won through to the second round of a European Tour event for the first time thanks to his 6-3 defeat of Darren Johnson and he will now take on Players Championship 15 winner Mervyn King.
Jason Lowe edged a high-quality contest on his Euro Tour debut as he beat Keegan Brown 6-5 to set up a meeting with Jonny Clayton.
Russia's Boris Koltsov also enjoyed a winning debut on the European Tour with a 6-2 win over Robert Owen in the opening game of the tournament and he will now play Danish Darts Open winner Mensur Suljovic.
Saturday's second round action sees the 16 seeded players enter the tournament, with coverage to be streamed from 1.15pm and 7.15pm local time.
The European Darts Matchplay will be broadcast throughout the weekend for PDCTV-HD Subscribers, and through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
Schedule of Play
Friday June 29
First Round
Afternoon Session
Boris Koltsov 6-2 Robert Owen
Jason Lowe 6-5 Keegan Brown
Paul Rowley 6-3 Darren Johnson
William O'Connor 6-1 Martin Atkins
Maik Langendorf 6-1 Michael Barnard
Justin Pipe 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Martin Schindler 6-1 Mario Robbe
Robert Marijanovic 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Evening Session
Chris Dobey 6-1 Jamie Bain
Robert Thornton 6-4 Rene Eidams
Darius Labanauskas 6-2 Mike De Decker
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Dragutin Horvat
Ryan Joyce 6-1 Mark Wilson
Andy Boulton 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Max Hopp 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Humphries 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts
Saturday June 30
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Simon Whitlock v Justin Pipe
Jonny Clayton v Jason Lowe
Gerwyn Price v Maik Langendorf
Mervyn King v Paul Rowley
James Wilson v Robert Thornton
Joe Cullen v Martin Schindler
Kim Huybrechts v Chris Dobey
Darren Webster v Luke Humphries
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Steve Beaton v Andy Boulton
Ian White v Max Hopp
Mensur Suljovic v Boris Koltsov
Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Joyce
Daryl Gurney v Robert Marijanovic
Rob Cross v William O'Connor
Stephen Bunting v Darius Labanauskas
Michael Smith v Jelle Klaasen
Sunday July 1
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order
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
Bet90 - www.bet90.com - Brazil, Germany
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
FDJ - www.fdj-gaming-solutions.com - France
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Legolasbet - www.legolas.bet - Sweden
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
Olimp - www.betolimp.com - Kazakhstan, Russian federation
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Supabets - www.supabets.com.gh - Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Totogaming - www.totogaming.am/en/ - Armenia
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
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - Great Britain, Ireland, Spain
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia
World Sports Betting - www.worldsportsbetting.co.za - Namibia, South Africa