Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson will renew their rivalry in the second round of the Machineseeker European Championship after celebrating dominant victories as the event began in Dortmund on Thursday.
Day One of the £600,000 event saw eight first round ties take place at the Westfalenhalle, as top seed Martin Schindler was beaten on home soil by Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Schindler’s World Cup partner Gabriel Clemens had earlier been sent packing by Van Gerwen, who kicked off his bid for a fifth European Championship crown with a crushing 6-1 victory.
The Dutch superstar silenced the partisan home crowd with 116 and 122 outshots to establish a 5-1 cushion, before sealing his progress with a superb 12-darter to end the tie with a 100 average.
“You always need to be sharp in this short format,” insisted Van Gerwen, one of five former champions in the 32-player field.
“I am enjoying my darts again and I think you need to have that if you want to perform well.
“You want to keep performing well, because there’s still a lot to fight for, and I think this is a really important tournament for me.”
Van Gerwen’s reward is a last 16 showdown against his great rival Anderson, who also posted a ton-topping average to account for Masters champion Stephen Bunting.
Two-time World Champion Anderson delivered the goods in his first European Championship appearance since 2016, winning four of the last five legs to book his place in Saturday’s second round.
“I felt like I scored well tonight,” reflected Anderson, a European Championship runner-up in 2015.
“Me and Michael have had some belters; apart from winning the World Championship, the best game I ever played in was when I beat Michael in Dubai!
“It would be fantastic to get my hands on this title, but there’s no pressure and no expectation on me.”
It was a frustrating night for German number one Schindler, who suffered his fifth consecutive opening round defeat at the European Championship as he went down to resurgent Van Duijvenbode.
The Dutchman only confirmed his qualification in last-gasp fashion last weekend after battling to overcome a shoulder injury during the past year, although he was too strong for Schindler after following up a trio of 14-darters with a 13-dart clincher to seal a 6-3 win.
“I felt a little bit nervous when I was 5-1 up,” revealed Van Duijvenbode, who will play Daryl Gurney for a place in the quarter-finals.
“I have been at rock bottom [over the last year], but in the last three weeks I’ve been able to practice again for the first time in a year.
“I think my averages and performances are getting closer to where they used to be, so I’m happy!”
Michael Smith rounded off Thursday’s action in style, whitewashing fourth seed Dave Chisnall to move through to an intriguing tie against Ritchie Edhouse.
Smith conjured up a magical spell of finishing midway through the contest, taking out successive 104, 148 and 161 checkouts to breeze through his all-St Helens affair against Chisnall.
Edhouse, meanwhile, produced the performance of Thursday’s opening night, averaging 109.48 to demolish 2023 semi-finalist Gian van Veen 6-1.
The Englishman was inspired at the Westfalenhalle, registering a trio of 12-darters and converting 145 and 110 checkouts to cap off his best-ever big-stage display.
Ryan Searle put in a similarly emphatic performance to book his place in the last 16, averaging over 101 in his 6-2 victory against two-time semi-finalist Raymond van Barneveld.
Van Barneveld landed a ten-darter in leg six to avoid a possible whitewash, but a ruthless Searle later wrapped up victory with a 13-darter to set up a second round clash against Luke Woodhouse.
Woodhouse marked his European Championship debut with a comprehensive 6-1 success against 2022 champion Ross Smith, having raced into a 4-0 lead at one stage.
Gurney also impressed on Day One in Dortmund, running out a 6-3 winner against 2019 runner-up Gerwyn Price to set up a showdown against Van Duijvenbode.
The Northern Irishman kicked off proceedings with a 119 checkout which set the tone for a clinical display, with a solitary break of throw in leg eight enough to break the Welshman’s resistance.
The first round action concludes on Friday evening, as reigning champion Peter Wright kicks off his title defence against Jermaine Wattimena.
World number one Luke Humphries takes on Nathan Aspinall in a blockbuster clash, while Luke Littler makes his European Championship debut against Andrew Gilding.
Rob Cross and James Wade collide in a battle of former European Champions, while sixth seed Josh Rock plays newly-crowned World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker.
The Machineseeker European Championship is being broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in the UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).
Click here for match stats & results.
2024 Machineseeker European Championship
Thursday October 24
First Round
Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 Gian van Veen
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Ross Smith
Gary Anderson 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Ryan Searle 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Gabriel Clemens
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Martin Schindler
Michael Smith 6-0 Dave Chisnall
Friday October 25 (1900-2300 CEST, 1800-2200 BST)
First Round
Danny Noppert v Joe Cullen
Chris Dobey v Jonny Clayton
Rob Cross v James Wade
Ricardo Pietreczko v Damon Heta
Peter Wright v Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Littler v Andrew Gilding
Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
Josh Rock v Mike De Decker
Best of 11 legs