TEENAGER Nico Blum created history with a win over Josh Payne on his European Tour debut at the HappyBet German Darts Open on Friday, where Vincent van der Voort and Mervyn King enjoyed narrow victories.
German qualifier Blum, 16, became the first player born in this millennium to win on the PDC European Tour as he overcame Payne 6-4 in Saarbrucken as he made an immediate impact on his stage debut.
Payne opened the game with a 135 bull finish, but Blum moved out into a 4-2 lead, and though the 2016 Players Championship winner hit back to level, two more legs for the youngster took him through to face Cristo Reyes on Saturday.
Bernd Roith gave the Saarbrucken crowd another victory to cheer as he edged out Brian Woods 6-5 in a deciding leg, and he now plays Stephen Bunting in Saturday's second round.
Mervyn King's bid to win a second European Tour title also began with a deciding-leg triumph as he saw off Robbie Green, progressing to a second round date with Kim Huybrechts.
Another former European Tour winner, Vincent van der Voort, edged past Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 in their all-Dutch first round tie, and now plays Joe Cullen in the last 32.
There was disappointment, though, for 2015 European Darts Open winner Robert Thornton as he lost out 6-3 to Nathan Aspinall, who now plays Betway Premier League ace Dave Chisnall.
Ronny Huybrechts set up a clash with World Champion Michael van Gerwen by whitewashing Austrian qualifier Zoran Lerchbacher, in one of two 6-0 wins on the day for Belgian players.
Former World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton suffered a whitewash on his return to the European Tour stage, with five missed doubles punished in clinical fashion by Dimitri Van den Bergh, who moves through to play Alan Norris.
Rob Cross enjoyed a fine European Tour debut as he swept aside Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1, sharing the opening two legs before pulling clear to victory with five in a row, including finishes of 89 and 105, to set up a tie with Michael Smith.
South Africa's Warrick Scheffer also took victory in his first appearance on the European Tour, overcoming Finland's Marko Kantele 6-3 with five straight legs after finding himself 3-1 down, and now plays Ian White.
UK Qualifier Adam Hunt saw off German debutant Rene Berndt 6-3 as he moved through to a meeting with Steve West, while Darren Webster's 97 average in a 6-3 win over Peter Jacques sees him now face Simon Whitlock.
Former UK Open finalist Mark Walsh was another 6-5 winner as he edged past Dutch youngster Jimmy Hendriks to create a tie with Austrian star Mensur Suljovic.
Former Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson enjoyed a 6-1 win over German youngster Martin Schindler as he moves through to meet number four seed Benito van de Pas.
Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski was a 6-3 winner against Scotland's Jamie Bain, and now meets number two seed Peter Wright, while Christian Kist's 6-4 defeat of Irish youngster Steve Lennon sets up an all-Dutch clash with Jelle Klaasen.
James Richardson's 6-3 win over former European Tour finalist John Henderson moves him through to a meeting with UK Open runner-up Gerwyn Price on Saturday.
The HappyBet German Darts Open will be broadcast online for PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide through www.livepdc.tv , and also streamed through a series of bookmakers' websites.
HappyBet German Darts Open
Friday April 21 – First Round
Afternoon Session
Warrick Scheffer 6-3 Marko Kantele
Darren Webster 6-3 Peter Jacques
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Jamie Bain
Christian Kist 6-4 Steve Lennon
Mark Walsh 6-5 Jimmy Hendriks
Adam Hunt 6-3 Rene Berndt
James Richardson 6-3 John Henderson
Bernd Roith 6-5 Brian Woods
Evening Session
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Robert Thornton
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-0 Andy Hamilton
Mervyn King 6-5 Robbie Green
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Martin Schindler
Rob Cross 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Nico Blum 6-4 Josh Payne
Ronny Huybrechts 6-0 Zoran Lerchbacher
Saturday April 22 – Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Stephen Bunting v Bernd Roith
Ian White v Warrick Scheffer
Gerwyn Price v James Richardson
Steve West v Adam Hunt
Kim Huybrechts v Mervyn King
Michael Smith v Rob Cross
Alan Norris v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Simon Whitlock v Darren Webster
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Cristo Reyes v Nico Blum
Joe Cullen v Vincent van der Voort
Benito van de Pas v Paul Nicholson
Michael van Gerwen v Ronny Huybrechts
Mensur Suljovic v Mark Walsh
Peter Wright v Krzysztof Ratajski
Jelle Klaasen v Christian Kist
Dave Chisnall v Nathan Aspinall
All games are the best of 11 legs
Tournament Draw Bracket - Second Round Onwards
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Ronny Huybrechts
Steve West (16) v Adam Hunt
Ian White (8) v Warrick Scheffer
Kim Huybrechts (9) v Mervyn King
Simon Whitlock v Darren Webster
Michael Smith (12) v Rob Cross
Benito van de Pas (4) v Paul Nicholson
Joe Cullen (13) v Vincent van der Voort
Peter Wright (2) v Krzysztof Ratajski
Cristo Reyes (15) v Nico Blum
Alan Norris (7) v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gerwyn Price (10) v James Richardson
Dave Chisnall (6) v Nathan Aspinall
Jelle Klaasen (11) v Christian Kist
Mensur Suljovic (3) v Mark Walsh
Stephen Bunting (14) v Bernd Roith