Kyle Anderson, John Henderson and Dimitri Van den Bergh were among the players to make it through to the second day of the International Darts Open as the European Tour event got underway in Reisa, Germany on Friday.
Day One of the 12th European Tour event of 2019 saw 32 players in action at the Sachsenarena all looking to secure places in Saturday's second round where the 16 seeded players will enter the £140,000 event.
Anderson faced a tough opening fixture, matching up against Arron Monk, but the Australian averaged 99.63 on his way to a 6-5 victory.
Monk missed a dart at tops in the deciding leg which allowed Anderson to take out 25 and secure his place in Saturday's second round.
"I'm glad the match could live up to the expectation, but I'm just very happy to secure the win and find some form again." said Anderson, who will face reigning champion Gerwyn Price in the next round.
"I'm getting that confidence back and I know that when I'm confident, I play well, so I'm looking forward to the game against Gerwyn tomorrow."
The evening closed with a fantastic debut performance from Davy van Baelen who averaged 103.66 in a whitewash demolition job of Ole Luckow, with the Belgian only missing one dart at a double in the entire match. He will face European Darts Matchplay champion Joe Cullen in Saturday's second round.
Henderson, who hit a nine-dart finish during the midweek Players Championship Event 24, set up a second round clash with World Matchplay champion Rob Cross after a 6-4 victory over Brett Claydon.
Van den Bergh was one of the standout players on the opening day, averaging almost 99 as he beat Adam Hunt 6-3, while Justin Pipe beat Host Nation Qualifier Christian Jentschke by the same scoreline.
The evening session kicked off with an incredible comeback from Richard North who fought from 5-2 down to claim a 6-5 victory over Boris Koltsov, with Joe Murnan also progressing after winning a deciding leg against Jelle Klaasen.
Ireland's World Cup star William O'Connor also progressed into round two after winning 6-4 in a hard fought contest with Benito van de Pas, while Danny Noppert punished Mickey Mansell's missed match darts to claim a 6-5 victory.
Elsewhere, Harry Ward won his first ever European Tour match, opening the afternoon session with a 6-4 victory over Reece Robinson, with Michael Rosenauer defeating Mike de Decker by the same margin.
Ritchie Edhouse and Luke Woodhouse both put in dominant displays on their way to 6-2 and 6-1 victories over Davyd Venken and Manfred Bilderl respectively.
There was more last leg drama in the match between Andy Boulton and Steffan Siepmann with the German just pipping Boulton to a place in round two.
Finally, Steve West and James Richardson both secured spots in Saturday's second round of action both posting 6-3 victories over Daniel Larssen and Mike Poge respectively.
The International Darts Open can be watched online through PDCTV-HD at video.pdc,tv for all subscribers worldwide, as well as through the bookmakers' websites listed below.
2019 International Darts Open
Friday September 13
First Round
Afternoon Session
Harry Ward 6-4 Reece Robinson
William O'Connor 6-4 Benito van de Pas
Justin Pipe 6-3 Christian Jentschke
Kyle Anderson 6-5 Arron Monk
John Henderson 6-4 Brett Claydon
James Richardson 6-3 Mike Poge
Danny Noppert 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Michael Rosenauer 6-4 Mike De Decker
Evening Session
Richard North 6-5 Boris Koltsov
Steve West 6-3 Daniel Larsson
Ritchie Edhouse 6-2 Davyd Venken
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Manfred Bilderl
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Adam Hunt
Steffen Siepmann 6-5 Andy Boulton
Joe Murnan 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Davy Van Baelen 6-0 Ole Luckow
Saturday September 14
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Nathan Aspinall v Justin Pipe
Krzysztof Ratajski v Michael Rosenauer
Glen Durrant v James Richardson
Rob Cross v John Henderson
Adrian Lewis v William O'Connor
Daryl Gurney v Danny Noppert
Steve Beaton v Luke Woodhouse
Gerwyn Price v Kyle Anderson
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Ricky Evans v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jamie Hughes v Steve West
Jonny Clayton v Steffan Siepmann
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Joe Murnan
Joe Cullen v Davy van Baelen
Ian White v Richard North
Mensur Suljovic v Harry Ward
Peter Wright v Ritchie Edhouse
Format
All games up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs.
Prize Fund
Winner: £25,000
Runner-up: £10,000
Semi-Finalists: £6,500
Quarter-Finalists: £5,000
Last 16: £3,000
Last 32: £2,000
Last 48: £1,000
Total: £140,000
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online through PDCTV-HD for all subscribers worldwide.
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
Fortuna - www.fortunagroup.eu - Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
Legolasbet - www.legolas.bet - Sweden
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine
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