Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler will resume their rivalry in the TOTO Dutch Darts Masters quarter-finals on Saturday, while three other home favourites progressed on Day One in Den Bosch.
Van Gerwen defeated Littler to win last year's World Series of Darts event at De Maaspoort, while the teenager took victory in the World Championship final a fortnight ago in their most recent meeting.
They will face off again in Den Bosch on Saturday, where Van Gerwen took victory in the final 12 months ago.
The Dutchman - returning from a family holiday in Thailand - cruised past Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 to book his spot in the last four in a comfortable first round win on Friday night.
Van Duijvenbode shared the opening two legs of their tie, hitting a 14-darter to level, but had no answer as Van Gerwen reeled off the next five without reply.
New World Champion Littler, meanwhile, was pushed all the way by Dimitri Van den Bergh before eventually prevailing 6-4 in his first outing since turning 18 on Tuesday.
Van den Bergh responded to Littler's 134 finish in leg two by taking four of the next five to move 4-3 up.
Littler, though, hit back with a 102 finish to level, broke throw by punishing the Belgian's miss on double 16 before landing two 180s as he sealed victory in leg ten, ending with a 101.07 average.
A dramatic opening night to the World Series of Darts event saw three PDC representatives knocked out by their Dutch opponents - led by Jermaine Wattimena's brilliant 6-3 win over world number one Luke Humphries.
Humphries took the opening two legs in a bright start, but paid for missed doubles in the third as Wattimena got off the mark.
The Dutchman then seized control of the tie with a brace of 12-darters as checkouts of 153 and 111 catapulted him ahead, with a 78 finish and a 13-darter moving him to the brink of victory.
Humphries hit back in leg eight, but missed tops to continue his fightback before a last-dart double 12 for Wattimena completed a memorable triumph.
Raymond van Barneveld thrilled the Den Bosch crowd with a stunning 144 checkout to win a deciding leg against Chris Dobey in an 11-leg epic.
Dobey led 3-1 and also took out 138 as he moved 4-3 up, but Van Barneveld kept himself in the contest as a 14-darter forced a decider which he claimed in dramatic fashion to thrill the Barney Army.
"I'm so over the moon with this win," said Van Barneveld. "I had to keep putting Chris under pressure but he kept taking his moments.
"In the last leg I started well and I'm really happy that the 144 went in. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night now."
Kevin Doets followed up an impressive World Championship - where he reached the last 16 - by knocking out Nathan Aspinall 6-1, hitting six doubles from ten attempts.
The Dutchman became the first local star to progress as he clinically saw off Aspinall, who took leg three but saw his opponent finish a key 138 on his way to victory.
Doets now plays Gerwyn Price, reeled off four straight legs to race into the quarter-finals with a 6-2 defeat of Danny Noppert, averaging 101.85 in a strong display.
The Bahrain Darts Masters runner-up last week shared the opening four legs with the Dutch ace, but a key 124 finish broke Noppert's resistance before legs of 14 and 13 darts sealed the win.
Stephen Bunting made an impressive start to his bid for back-to-back World Series titles by seeing off World Youth Champion Gian van Veen 6-5 as both players averaged above 102.
Bunting continued the form which saw him claim the Bahrain Darts Masters title last week in a high-quality contest with Van Veen, taking out 70 in a sudden-death leg to end the tie with six doubles from nine attempts.
"I'm glad that I hit that winning double at the end - I knew it was now or never and it needed to go in," said Bunting, who now plays Van Barneveld.
"I felt like it was a great game throughout - he's got a massive future ahead of him. He's up there with one of the best players in the world and I'm thankful to be through that game.
"I'm on the crest of a wave at the moment and I hope it can continue. I won't take anything for granted and I'll be ready for tomorrow."
Rob Cross bounced back from his first round exit at the Bahrain Darts Masters by overcoming a stern test from Richard Veenstra.
The Dutchman produced combination finishes of 84, 97 and 110 as he led 3-2, but Cross took four successive legs to seal his spot against Wattimena in the quarter-finals.
Watch the TOTO Dutch Masters on Viaplay in the Netherlands, Poland and Nordic & Baltic region, as well as on ITV4 in the UK and DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland - as well as through other PDC broadcasters worldwide.
Coverage of the TOTO Dutch Darts Masters is also available on PDCTV outside of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Click here for live scores, match stats & results.
2025 TOTO Dutch Darts Masters
Friday January 24 (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
First Round
Rob Cross 6-3 Richard Veenstra
Kevin Doets 6-1 Nathan Aspinall
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Gian van Veen
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Chris Dobey
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Danny Noppert
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Littler 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Saturday January 25 (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
First Round - Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 13 legs
Final - Best of 15 legs
Photo Gallery
