Michael van Gerwen eased through to the last 16 on a thrilling day of second round action at the Dutch Darts Championship, as Michael Smith began his title defence in convincing fashion.
Day Two of the year’s sixth European Tour event saw 16 second round ties played across two sessions on Saturday, with Dutch number one Van Gerwen headlining the action at the WTC Expo.
Van Gerwen was one of four Dutch stars to progress on home soil, with last year's runner-up Danny Noppert, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Berry van Peer also winning through to Finals Day in Leeuwarden.
Three-time World Champion Van Gerwen began his bid for a record-extending 36th European Tour title with a 6-2 success against Gabriel Clemens, converting six of his nine attempts at double to advance.
“This means a lot,” reflected an emotional Van Gerwen, who celebrated his victory on stage with his daughter Zoe.
“I didn’t play well in Rotterdam, but I am pushing to perform better all the time.
“This is only the second time on the European Tour that my daughter is with me. She has had a good weekend and I won my game, and I’m glad I did.
“I love being back in Holland. I would love to be playing at my best, but I’m not done here, and I’d like to thank all the fans for their support.”
Local favourite Noppert delighted the partisan home crowd with a 6-1 demolition of Latvia’s Madars Razma, while Van Duijvenbode came through a remarkable deciding-leg clash against Dylan Slevin.
Van Duijvenbode took an almighty tumble on his typically energetic walk-on and was in visible discomfort throughout the tie, only to conjure up a majestic 129 checkout in the decider to keep his title tilt alive.
Van Peer, meanwhile, dumped out last weekend’s Austrian Darts Open champion Jonny Clayton in a dramatic last-leg shoot-out, despite trailing 4-1 and 5-3 at one stage.
Elsewhere, Smith began his defence of the title by coming through a tough test against Jim Williams, crashing in six maximums and producing a trio of 12-darters to triumph with a three-figure average.
The World Champion will now take on Peter Wright in round three, after the Scot fought back from 5-1 down to stun Krzysztof Ratajski and create a showdown between the world’s top two.
Top seed Luke Humphries averaged over 101 to close out a 6-3 success against European Champion Ross Smith, and his reward is a last 16 meeting with UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
Gilding averaged over 108 to defeat 2018 champion Ian White in a ten-leg thriller, kicking off the contest with 149, 103 and 121 finishes, before fending off an inspired fightback from the Stoke-on-Trent star.
However, Ryan Searle produced the performance of the day in Leeuwarden, averaging 109 in his 6-1 demolition of Premier League star Dimitri Van den Bergh, who averaged over 105 in defeat.
Keane Barry awaits Searle in Sunday’s last 16, after the Irishman recorded a second straight win over Rob Cross, converting 125 and 140 checkouts in defying a 104 average from the sixth seed.
Austrian Darts Open runner-up Josh Rock was the first player to win through to Sunday’s last 16, dismissing a brace of 116 finishes from Graham Hall to wrap up a routine 6-2 victory.
Rock’s reward is a third round date against second seed Dave Chisnall, who posted a ton-topping average and fired in four 180s to overcome a spirited Martin Lukeman to open his bid for a second European Tour win of the year.
Earlier in the day, Stephen Bunting edged out Joe Cullen in a topsy-turvy decider, surviving three match darts in the penultimate leg, having earlier surrendered a 4-1 advantage.
Nathan Aspinall, Damon Heta and Martin Schindler also booked their spots at Finals Day, running out 6-4 winners against Daryl Gurney, Steve Beaton and Roman Benecky respectively.
Sunday's final day of action in Leeuwarden features the third round in the afternoon session, ahead of the decisive quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening.
The tournament is being broadcast live on Viaplay, DAZN and PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' websites worldwide.
Click here for results and match stats.
2023 Dutch Darts Championship
Saturday April 29
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Josh Rock 6-2 Graham Hall
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Martin Lukeman
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Ian White
Keane Barry 6-3 Rob Cross
Danny Noppert 6-1 Madars Razma
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Joe Cullen
Damon Heta 6-4 Steve Beaton
Martin Schindler 6-4 Roman Benecky
Evening Session
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Berry van Peer 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Michael Smith 6-4 Jim Williams
Ryan Searle 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
Peter Wright 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Luke Humphries 6-3 Ross Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Dylan Slevin
Sunday April 30
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Keane Barry v Ryan Searle
Michael van Gerwen v Martin Schindler
Michael Smith v Peter Wright
Dave Chisnall v Josh Rock
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Stephen Bunting
Damon Heta v Berry van Peer
Nathan Aspinall v Danny Noppert
Luke Humphries v Andrew Gilding
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games are played in Draw Bracket order