REIGNING Unibet European Champion Michael van Gerwen and 2012 winner Simon Whitlock stormed into the quarter-finals of this year's event with stunning second round victories in Hasselt on Friday night.
World Champion and top seed Van Gerwen dropped just one leg in a superb 10-1 romp against Ian White, producing the best display of the tournament so far as he averaged over 105 and finished ten doubles from 17 attempts.
Legs of 12 and 14 darts gave Van Gerwen an early 2-0 lead, with White hiting back in the third but having no reply as the Dutchman slammed home checkouts of 114 and 164 in taking a 6-1 cushion.
Missed doubles from White in the next three allowed Van Gerwen to pull clear at 9-1, before he finished 88 to seal a dominant performance.
"I think I played a fantastic game," said Van Gerwen. "We always play well against each other but you have to do the right thing at the right moment and that's exactly what I did in this game.
"He missed a few doubles but I think I was the dominant player in this game and I deserved to win. Everything was perfect and I think I played a lovely game. I'm happy with my game and I can build on this for the next round.
"I full of confidence and I know can do something special. I've got more in the tank to come and I feel great, so I hope I can continue this feeling on Sunday."
Van Gerwen's scoreline was bettered by 2012 European Championship winner Whitlock, who ruthlessly punished 13 missed doubles from Alan Norris to claim a whitewash victory in their second round tie.
Opening legs of 13 and 14 darts put the 2012 champion in command before he made Norris pay for four misses in leg three, before finishing 88 in leg four and landing six perfect darts in the fifth.
Five further misses from Norris in the next two legs were again punished, as Whitlock moved 7-0 up with the aid of a 95 finish featuring two double 19s, while he also capitalised on further misses with a brace of double tops to seal the win.
"The scoreline's a bit flattering but Alan missed his chances and I took mine," said Whitlock, who averaged 96 and finished ten doubles from 21 attempts.
"I wasn't too happy with how I played against James Richardson in the first round so I wanted to perform better today. Alan wasn't himself and it was quite a comfortable win in the end."
Van Gerwen and Whitlock will clash on Sunday afternoon in the quarter-finals, and the Dutchman added: "I've got a fantastic record against Simon.
"Simon knows what he has to do - he has to play a phenomenal match if he wants to beat me, but he can do that.
"He's been in Premier Leagues and World Championship finals and he knows what to do, but I think I'm the better player and I have to show that on Sunday afternoon."
Friday night's other second round winners were Mensur Suljovic and Kyle Anderson, who will also clash in Sunday afternoon's quarter-finals at the Ethias Arena.
2016 European Championship runner-up Suljovic remains on course to at least match that feat after he overcame UK Open finalist Gerwyn Price 10-4.
After Price took the opening leg, Suljovic claimed seven in a row - including a 121 combination - to sweep clear of the Welshman.
Price finished legs of 13, 11 and 12 darts as he won three of the next five, but Suljovic closed out the win with his second 180 in an 11-darter.
"It was a very hard game and if he finished his doubles it could have been closer," said Suljovic. "I was focused on my game and I'm happy I won it."
Auckland Darts Masters champion Anderson won through to the quarter-finals in Hasselt for a second successive year, defeating Jelle Klaasen 10-6 in their second round tie.
The Australian capitalised on his rival's early missed doubles to open up a 3-0 lead, with Klaasen cutting the gap to 5-3 before a surge of 180s from Anderson helped him pull clear into a 9-5 cushion.
Klaasen took out 108 to respond and keep his hopes alive, but the fightback was brief as Anderson finished tops to seal his spot in Sunday's final stages.
"It's great to be through to Sunday now," said Anderson. "I think early on we were more worried about each others' game, and then I tried to dictate the pace but it took a while and after the first break I settled down.
"Maybe I should have hit more than the six 180s but I got the job done and I can prepare for the quarter-finals. I'm looking forward to it and I'm here to do a job."
The second round concludes on Saturday evening in Hasselt with the remaining four matches, headlined by the tie between number two seed Peter Wright and Welsh ace Jonny Clayton.
Wright, March's UK Open champion who also won last weekend's German Darts Masters, began his bid for another TV title with a 6-3 first round success over Krzysztof Ratajski on Friday afternoon.
Welshman Clayton, meanwhile, produced the highest average of the first round of 103.61 in his excellent 6-1 defeat of Dimitri Van den Bergh, which ended Belgian hopes in the tournament.
Recent World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney began his challenge for a second TV title with a 6-3 win over Steve Beaton.
Stephen Bunting survived four missed match darts from Joe Cullen before emerging from their first round tie with a 6-5 victory as he moves through to meet Gurney.
Number three seed Michael Smith held off Nathan Aspinall's fightback from 4-0 down to level before progressing to the second round with a 6-4 win over the Stockport debutant.
Benito van de Pas held off the challenge of Vincent van der Voort to claim his first European Championship victory, following up three first round exits with a 6-5 win as he survived two missed match darts in their all-Dutch tie.
Rob Cross produced a superb display to whitewash German's Martin Schindler 6-0 in a clash between two European Championship debutants, averaging 101.35 and landing five maximums.
Cross now meets Dave Chisnall, who averaged 99.51 and finished six doubles from nine attempts in a 6-1 defeat of Spain's Cristo Reyes.
The £400,000 tournament then concludes on Sunday at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt with the quarter-finals in the afternoon session and semi-finals and final in the evening session.
The Unibet European Championship is being held from October 26-29, with coverage live on ITV4 as well as through the PDC's series of worldwide broadcast partners and for PDCTV-HD Rest of the World Subscribers.
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Tickets for the Unibet European Championship are available at the Ethias Arena, or via www.pdc-europe.tv.
Unibet European Championship
Friday October 27
Afternoon Session
First Round
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Cristo Reyes
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Steve Beaton
Michael Smith (3) 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Rob Cross (6) 6-0 Martin Schindler
Joe Cullen (7) 5-6 Stephen Bunting
Peter Wright (2) 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Best of 11 legs
Evening Session (8pm local time, 7pm UK time)
Second Round
Jelle Klaasen 6-10 Kyle Anderson
Simon Whitlock 10-0 Alan Norris
Michael van Gerwen 10-1 Ian White
Mensur Suljovic 10-4 Gerwyn Price
Best of 19 legs
Kyle Anderson
Simon Whitlock
Ian White
Mensur Suljovic
Gerwyn Price & Mensur Suljovic
Afternoon Session - First Round
Peter Wright began his bid for another TV title with a 6-3 first round success over Krzysztof Ratajski at the Unibet European Championship.
UK Open champion Wright was crowned as the German Darts Masters winner in Dusseldorf last weekend, and has now set his sights on scooping the £100,000 title in Hasselt following a strong showing against the Polish debutant.
Legs of 13 and 12 darts gave Wright an early lead, with Ratajski hitting back to trail 3-2 only to wire the bull for a 164 finish to level as the Scot took out 87 in two darts as he edged clear.
Ratajski did close the gap in leg seven, but Wright fired in a 180 and tops to regain his cushion before closing out the win on double seven.
"I was a little bit nervous but I got over the line," said Wright, who averaged 98.06. "I knew I had a tough game because Krzysztof has been fantastic and done really well this year.
"It started off really well and I did alright in patches, but I let him back into the match and I shouldn't have."
Wright now faces a second round tie with Jonny Clayton on Saturday night, and he added: "Jonny's been playing some fantastic darts for the past month or so and he's going to be a dangerous customer, so it should be a really good game."
Clayton produced the highest average of the first round of 103.61 in his excellent 6-1 defeat of Dimitri Van den Bergh, which ended Belgian hopes in the tournament.
The Welshman landed 180s in the opening two legs on his way to a 3-0 cushion before Van den Bergh held his nerve - despite a 177 from his opponent - to finish 74 as he responded in the fourth.
Clayton, though, finished double 14 to restore a three-leg lead and then fired in a pair of 180s and checkouts of 60 and 64 to complete a high-quality win.
"I think my darts went really well but I found the trebles early and that settled me down," said Clayton, who won his maiden ranking title earlier in October.
"I hope that form stays with me, but it won't be for the lack of trying. My confidence is quite high at the moment after winning the Players Championship recently.
"I enjoy the big stage and the crowds. Being a rugby boy, I've always enjoyed the banter and the crowds play a part in your performance, even with them being behind Dimitri."
Recent World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney began his challenge for a second TV title with a 6-3 win over Steve Beaton, who opened the tie with a 180 and finished an 11-darter to lead but never recovered from losing the next five legs.
Gurney took out two 13-darters and a 130 checkout in his run, with Beaton responding with two successive legs to rally briefly before the Northern Irish ace sealed victory with double six.
"I knew Steve would start off fast and he did but I stuck with him and got on top," said Gurney. "He had a lot of 60s which could have been 180s and I've had games like that so I feel for him, but I'm happy to get the win."
Stephen Bunting survived four missed match darts from Joe Cullen before emerging from their first round tie with a 6-5 victory as he moves through to meet Gurney.
Bunting led 2-0 and 3-1 following a strong start before number seven seed Cullen took four successive legs - landing tops on three occasions - to put himself on the brink of victory at 5-3.
However, he missed four match darts in leg nine as Bunting scrambled in double 18 to keep his hopes alive, before hitting the same bed to force a decider which he won by taking out 74 on tops.
Number three seed Michael Smith held off Nathan Aspinall's fightback before progressing to the second round with a 6-4 win over the Stockport debutant.
A brilliant start saw Smith race into a four-leg lead, hitting 180s in the opening two legs as well as finishes of 80 and 114 to take command.
Aspinall took out double 16, 71, 61 and tops as he clawed his way back level, but Smith edged the ninth to regain the lead before double ten finally saw off the youngster's challenge.
Benito van de Pas held off the challenge of Vincent van der Voort to claim his first European Championship victory, following up three first round exits with a 6-5 win as he survived two missed match darts in their all-Dutch tie.
Van de Pas followed up a 13-darter with a 174 as he opened up a two-leg lead, only for missed doubles to allow Van der Voort back in to claim leg three before a 112 finish levelled matters.
Van de Pas claimed a ten-dart leg to move 3-2 up, but Van der Voort took two of the next three to edge himself ahead before finishing 100 for a 12-darter to move to the brink of victory.
However, the former UK Open finalist missed two match darts at double 15 in leg ten as van de Pas forced a decider, before the youngster landed a 174 and finished a 94 combination on tops for a 12-darter and victory.
Rob Cross produced a superb display to whitewash German's Martin Schindler 6-0 in a clash between two European Championship debutants.
Cross, a four-time Players Championship winner in his debut year on the circuit, produced an assured display as he landed five 180s - one in each of the opening five legs - and averaged 101.35.
After opening with an 11-darter, he punished a miss from Schindler to double his lead, took out a 14-dart finish and 81 on the bull to lead 4-0.
Berlin youngster Schindler missed two further doubles in leg five as Cross landed tops to continue his charge, before the Hastings man hit the same bed to seal an impressive performance.
Cross now meets Dave Chisnall, who averaged 99.51 and finished six doubles from nine attempts in a 6-1 defeat of Spain's Cristo Reyes.
The St Helens man made a superb start with a 138 checkout for a 12-darter, traded 180s with Reyes in leg two before finishing double 12 for a 13-dart leg and then took out double five and 78 for a four-leg lead.
Reyes took out 68 to hit back, but tops moved Chisnall 5-1 up before he punished two misses from the Spanish star to seal a strong win.
Jonny Clayton
Dave Chisnall
Joe Cullen & Stephen Bunting
Belgian Superfan Jackie Goethals
Walk-On Girls Sonia & Ashley
Michael Smith
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Benito van de Pas
Daryl Gurney & Steve Beaton
Pictures by Kelly Deckers