WORLD CHAMPIONS Rob Cross and Adrian Lewis both came back from the brink of defeat to win on a dramatic second day of action at the inaugural Danish Darts Open in Copenhagen on Saturday.
Two-time World Champion Lewis edged out Michael Smith in a thrilling contest, which saw Smith squander two darts to win in a dramatic climax to their second round clash.
Premier League runner-up Smith kicked off each of the last two legs with back-to-back 180s but could only watch as Lewis took out 84 to punish his missed match darts in the deciding leg.
Cross, who won a Players Championship event last weekend to pick up his first title since becoming World Champion, stayed in hunt for another success after winning the last three legs to defeat Steve Beaton.
The world number three trailed 5-3 but managed to salvage the situation and set up a second round clash against Mervyn King, who came back from the same position to defeat German Darts Open winner Max Hopp.
World number one Michael Van Gerwen eased past Scott Taylor 6-2 to book his place in round three, where he will take on Brendan Dolan, who overturned a 4-1 deficit to defeat John Henderson.
Peter Wright enjoyed a dominant 6-1 success against Barry Lynn, while Mensur Suljovic saw off Ryan Joyce by the same the margin.
World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney suffered a rapid exit, losing out to Ricky Evans by six legs to three.
Joe Cullen produced a brilliant performance to see off Friday's top performer Madars Razma. The Yorkshireman averaged 105.99 in a 6-3 success.
Welsh World Cup of Darts teammates Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton experienced differing fortunes as Price defeated Jelle Klaasen 6-3 but Clayton missed five match darts before losing out to Darius Labanauskas.
James Wade fended off a spirited performance from 17-year-old Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, taking the last three legs to win 6-4.
Darren Webster defied a 103 average from Spain's Cristo Reyes to edge a thrilling contest 6-5, while Gibraltar Darts Trophy semi-finalist Steve West defeated number nine seed Ian White 6-4.
Simon Whitlock gained revenge for two defeats at the hands of Jermaine Wattimena at last weekend's Players Championship events by defeating the Dutchman 6-3.
Stephen Bunting also claimed a 6-3 success as he won five consecutive legs to beat Peter Jacques.
The £135,000 tournament concludes on Sunday at the Brondbyhallen, with the third round taking place in the afternoon session before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday night.
The Danish Darts Open will be broadcast throughout the weekend for PDCTV-HD Subscribers, and through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
Schedule of Play
Saturday June 23
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Brendan Dolan 6-4 John Henderson
Joe Cullen 6-3 Madars Razma
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Darius Labanauskas 6-5 Jonny Clayton
James Wade 6-4 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Darren Webster 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Peter Jacques
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Mervyn King 6-5 Max Hopp
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Ryan Joyce
Peter Wright 6-1 Barry Lynn
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Michael Smith
Rob Cross 6-5 Steve Beaton
Ricky Evans 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Scott Taylor
Steve West 6-4 Ian White
Sunday June 24
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)Peter Wright v Gerwyn Price
Mensur Suljovic v Darren Webster
Joe Cullen v James Wade
Adrian Lewis v Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross v Mervyn King
Ricky Evans v Simon Whitlock
Darius Labanauskas v Steve West
Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
All games up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs.
Sunday's games played in Draw Bracket order.
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online by all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide - click here to visit PDCTV-HD.
Live coverage with faster streams may also be available at the following bookmakers' websites:
bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Bet90 - www.bet90.com - Brazil, Germany
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
FDJ - www.fdj-gaming-solutions.com - France
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Legolasbet - www.legolas.bet - Sweden
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian federation, Spain, Ukraine
Napoleonbet - www.en-gb.sports.napoleongames.be - Belgium
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Olimp - www.betolimp.com - Kazakhstan, Russian federation
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Supabets - www.supabets.com.gh - Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Totogaming - www.totogaming.am/en/ - Armenia
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - Great Britain, Ireland, Spain
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia
World Sports Betting - www.worldsportsbetting.co.za - Namibia, South Africa