Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith progressed into the final 16 of the European Championship however Gerwyn Worth crashed out within the opening spherical.
Van Gerwen is chasing a primary televised main of the yr and opened with a cultured 6-1 victory over Gabriel Clemens in Dortmund.
The Dutchman, who has received this event 4 occasions, averaged 100.10 in his routine win which noticed him arrange a second-round assembly with Gary Anderson.
“You always need to be sharp in this short format,” mentioned Van Gerwen, one among 5 former champions within the 32-player discipline.
“I’m having fun with my darts once more and I believe you’ll want to have that if you wish to carry out effectively.
“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.”
Anderson, a two-time world champion, additionally averaged over 100 in his 6-3 success towards Stephen Bunting.
The Scot mentioned: “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 could be improbable to get my fingers on this title, however there is not any stress and no expectation on me.”
Smith barely had to break sweat as he demolished Dave Chisnall 6-0.
Smith had one of the toughest opening-round draws but made light work of it, with three ton-plus checkouts, including a 161 to dispose of Chisnall.
Worth was an early casualty, although, dropping 6-3 to Daryl Gurney whereas Martin Schindler, the highest seed on this event primarily based on his performances on the European Tour, was ousted by Dirk van Duijvenbode.
There have been additionally wins for Ritchie Edhouse, Luke Woodhouse and Ryan Searle.
World champion Luke Humphries begins his marketing campaign on Friday in an thrilling first-round conflict with Nathan Aspinall. Luke Littler can even be in motion as he takes on Andrew Gilding.
When is darts subsequent dwell on Sky Sports activities?
Dwell darts returns to Sky Sports activities with the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton from November 9-17 as Luke Humphries appears to be like to defend his title. Stream Sky Sports activities dwell with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW.
