Gerwyn Price began his bid for a record-extending fifth title at the Elten Safety Shoes International Darts Open with victory over Mike De Decker on Saturday, as Luke Humphries also made a winning start in Riesa.
Day Two of the £175,000 event saw the second round take place across two sessions at the WT Energiesysteme Arena, with Price winning through a high-quality affair against De Decker.
The Welshman has won four of his eight European Tour titles in this event, although he was forced to defy a ton-plus average from the World Grand Prix champion before closing out a 6-4 triumph.
“I love the German crowds, and I love playing in Riesa,” declared Price, who averaged almost 99 and wrapped up proceedings with a 119 checkout.
“When I get support like I do here, things happen for me, and hopefully I can become a five-time champion tomorrow!”
Price’s reward for beating De Decker is an all-Premier League tie against Nathan Aspinall, who opened his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles with a 6-1 demolition of Joe Cullen.
“I feel good. I feel confident,” insisted Aspinall, the winner of the European Darts Trophy in Gottingen last month.
“I’ve been saying all week that I’m going back-to-back [on the European Tour], and I’m really looking forward to playing Gezzy now.”
Price and Aspinall will be joined in the last 16 by world number one Humphries, who kicked off his campaign with a 6-1 thrashing of Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The 30-year-old defied a sluggish start to dispatch the Dutchman, averaging 99, landing five 180s and converting six of his ten attempts at double to cap off an accomplished display.
However, the performance of the day belonged to Josh Rock, who averaged 107.61 to see off Gian van Veen 6-4, avenging his defeat to the World Youth Champion in Gottingen a fortnight ago.
Stephen Bunting was another stand-out performer on Saturday, averaging 104.91 in his 6-4 success against Darius Labanauskas, following on from his Premier League exploits in Berlin on Thursday.
The Liverpudlian also landed a 170 checkout on his way to victory, and he will now play Cameron Menzies, who edged out James Wade in a contest which saw both players average in three figures.
Menzies’ compatriot Peter Wright also won through a last-leg decider in Riesa, as the 2017 champion fired in a timely 14-darter to account for European Champion Ritchie Edhouse.
Wessel Nijman won six of the last seven legs in his clash against Chris Dobey to set up a meeting with eighth seed Damon Heta, who ran out a comfortable 6-2 winner against Mario Vandenbogaerde.
Ross Smith averaged over a ton and landed five 180s to dismiss Ricardo Pietreczko in similarly emphatic style, while sixth Dave Chisnall swept aside Luke Woodhouse in his opener.
Raymond van Barneveld continued his impressive form with a resounding 6-2 win against fifth seed Jonny Clayton, and Karel Sedlacek now awaits the five-time World Champion on Sunday afternoon.
Czech star Sedlacek dumped out another Dutchman in Danny Noppert to reach the last 16, as former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding eased through with a whitewash win over Richard Veenstra.
Elsewhere, Dimitri Van den Bergh ended his eight-match winless run on the European Tour with a 6-4 victory against French trailblazer Thibault Tricole, which sets up a tussle against German number one Martin Schindler.
Reigning champion Schindler completes the last 16 line-up in Riesa, having received a bye through to Finals Day after his scheduled second round opponent Rob Cross withdrew from the tournament through illness on Friday.
The third round of the International Darts Open will take place on Sunday afternoon at the WT Energiesysteme Arena, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper evening session.
Live coverage will be streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through the DAZN Darts channel on Pluto TV.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' worldwide.
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 Elten Safety Shoes International Darts Open
Saturday April 5
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Cameron Menzies 6-5 James Wade
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Danny Noppert
Ross Smith 6-2 Ricardo Pietreczko
Damon Heta 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Chris Dobey
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Darius Labanauskas
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 Thibault Tricole
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Mike De Decker
Luke Humphries 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Richard Veenstra
Peter Wright 6-5 Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Joe Cullen
Josh Rock 6-4 Gian van Veen
Martin Schindler Bye (Rob Cross withdrew after the event began)
Sunday April 6
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Luke Humphries v Ross Smith
Damon Heta v Wessel Nijman
Stephen Bunting v Cameron Menzies
Raymond van Barneveld v Karel Sedlacek
Andrew Gilding v Josh Rock
Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall
Martin Schindler v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dave Chisnall v Peter Wright
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Humphries/R Smith v Heta/Nijman
Bunting/Menzies v Van Barneveld/Sedlacek
Gilding/Rock v Price/Aspinall
Schindler/Van den Bergh v Chisnall/Wright
Semi-Finals
Final