Jonny Clayton dumped out Michael Smith on the opening day of the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest, as Nathan Aspinall made a winning return on his first big stage appearance since July.
Clayton accounted for world number two Smith in a heavyweight first round showdown in the Hungarian capital, landing four maximums and pinning six of his 11 attempts at double to kick off his campaign with a 6-3 success.
The Welshman’s reward is a second round showdown against reigning champion Dave Chisnall, who is chasing back-to-back titles following his exploits in the inaugural Flanders Darts Trophy a fortnight ago.
Aspinall also booked his place in round two with an impressive 6-3 win against Krzysztof Ratajski, winning four of the last five legs to register his first victory since July’s World Matchplay.
The Stockport star has been sidelined for the last two months with an elbow injury, but after returning to action on the PDC ProTour earlier this week, Aspinall stepped up his comeback with a solid display at the MVM Dome.
“I just needed to get a win,” admitted the world number six, who will renew his rivalry with Dutch number two Danny Noppert on Saturday evening.
“I’ve not won a game of darts for two months because I’ve not been playing, so to get a win on my return to the European Tour can only give me confidence.
“I’m going to take a lot of positives from tonight and hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow against Danny.”
Peter Wright was another high-profile winner on Day One in Budapest, firing in back-to-back 12-darters to close out a 6-5 victory against Joe Cullen, who was featuring in his 100th European Tour event.
Raymond van Barneveld ended Ritchie Edhouse’s perfect first round record on the European Tour in 2024, running out a convincing 6-3 winner to boost his hopes of European Championship qualification.
Elsewhere, Gabriel Clemens will play World Champion Luke Humphries in a blockbuster tie on Saturday evening, after putting in one of the performances of the day to complete a thumping 6-1 success at the expense of Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Andrew Gilding made it back-to-back wins against Dimitri Van den Bergh on the European Tour, punishing a below-par display from the Belgian to book his place in round two, where 2018 World Champion Rob Cross awaits.
Luke Woodhouse converted 104, 105 and 124 checkouts in a compelling clash against Scott Williams, only to squander six match darts in the closing stages, as Williams rallied from 5-3 adrift to advance.
There was also victory for another Williams in Budapest, as Welshman Jim landed 111 and 160 finishes during his 6-1 blitz of Alan Soutar, which sets up a second round tussle against German number one Martin Schindler.
Ten-time TV title winner James Wade was amongst Friday afternoon’s winners, recovering from a sluggish start to see off Lukas Wenig and move through to a meeting with sixth seed Josh Rock for a place in the last 16.
Florian Hempel fought back from 5-2 down to defeat Callan Rydz in a dramatic affair, while Niels Zonneveld – aided by five 180s - also prevailed in a deciding-leg contest against Sebastian Bialecki.
Martin Lukeman halted a late fightback from Brendan Dolan to secure his first European Tour victory of 2024, after Keane Barry reeled off four consecutive legs in dispatching Darren Beveridge 6-2 in the tournament’s curtain-raiser.
Wessel Nijman breezed through to round two with a whitewash win over Host Nation Qualifier Gyorgy Jehirszki, which sets up a fascinating tussle against 2021 champion Gerwyn Price on Saturday evening.
Cor Dekker defied his doubling woes to defeat Janos Vegso and celebrate his maiden victory on the European Tour stage, while Alberto Bezjian preserved home hopes courtesy of a 6-4 success against his fellow Hungarian Andras Csoka.
The second round will take place across two sessions on Saturday, with world number one Humphries, reigning champion Chisnall and three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen among the stars in action.
Live coverage of the Hungarian Darts Trophy will be streamed through Viaplay, and through DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' worldwide.
2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy
Schedule of Play
Friday September 20
First Round
Afternoon Session
Keane Barry 6-2 Darren Beveridge
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
Wessel Nijman 6-0 Gyorgy Jehirszki
Florian Hempel 6-5 Callan Rydz
Cor Dekker 6-4 Janos Vegso
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Alberto Bezjian 6-4 Andras Csoka
James Wade 6-4 Lukas Wenig
Evening Session
Jim Williams 6-1 Alan Soutar
Scott Williams 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Gabriel Clemens 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Peter Wright 6-5 Joe Cullen
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael Smith
Saturday September 21
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Ricardo Pietreczko v Niels Zonneveld
Gian van Veen v Keane Barry
Ryan Searle v Alberto Bezjian
Daryl Gurney v Florian Hempel
Stephen Bunting v Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey v Scott Williams
Martin Schindler v Jim Williams
Josh Rock v James Wade
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Danny Noppert v Nathan Aspinall
Damon Heta v Peter Wright
Dave Chisnall v Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price v Wessel Nijman
Ross Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Luke Humphries v Gabriel Clemens
Michael van Gerwen v Martin Lukeman
Rob Cross v Andrew Gilding