Gian van Veen will take on reigning champion Gary Anderson in the second round of the Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Grand Prix, as Ross Smith stole the show with a sparkling display on Day One in Sindelfingen.
Van Veen was amongst the 16 first round winners on a marathon day of first round action, producing a mid-match burst to deny Nathan Rafferty and set up a blockbuster clash with Anderson.
The World Youth Champion ran out a 6-3 winner against Rafferty, although it was former European Champion Smith who produced the performance of the day at the Glaspalast.
Smith averaged 108.65 in his six-leg demolition of Host Nation representative Paul Krohne, and he will renew his rivalry with Dave Chisnall for a place in the last 16.
“I will take that all day long,” reflected Smith, who has won his last four meetings against the St Helens star.
“It didn’t feel like a 108 average in a million years, but I’m really happy with that, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow now."
Smith was beaten by Martin Schindler in last weekend’s Austrian Darts Open showpiece, and the German number one also made a winning start on home soil.
Schindler kicked off his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles with a hard-fought 6-3 win against Callan Rydz, reeling off three straight legs to confirm his second round berth.
There were mixed fortunes for the rest of the German contingent in Sindelfingen, with Leon Weber and Daniel Klose joining Schindler in progressing to Saturday’s second round.
Weber marked his European Tour debut with a statement 6-3 success against Ryan Joyce, before Klose defeated a profligate Jermaine Wattimena by the same scoreline.
However, Schindler’s former World Cup partners Gabriel Clemens and Max Hopp suffered opening round exits, losing out to Andrew Gilding and Mike De Decker respectively.
Gilding averaged 100.47 to withstand a valiant fightback from Clemens, while World Grand Prix champion De Decker overturned a 3-0 deficit to deny Hopp a dream return to the European Tour.
Joe Cullen and Cameron Menzies also brushed aside German opposition, easing past Marcel Erba and Michael Unterbuchner in convincing fashion.
Dutch quartet Dirk van Duijvenbode, Raymond van Barneveld, Wessel Nijman and Niels Zonneveld made winning starts at the Glaspalast, as they advanced to the last 32 alongside fellow countryman Van Veen.
Van Duijvenbode maintained his resurgence with a thumping 6-2 victory over William O’Connor, converting six of his eight attempts at double in the process.
Van Barneveld made a sprint for the finish to record a third straight win over Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski, and his reward will be a second round tie against 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price.
Nijman dispatched former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks in his opener, before Zonneveld exploited a disastrous display of doubling from Ryan Searle to clinch an emphatic 6-1 win.
Elsewhere, Connor Scutt celebrated his maiden European Tour victory at the seventh attempt, punishing a below-par performance from European Champion Ritchie Edhouse to wrap up a 6-2 victory.
Luke Woodhouse boosted his hopes of World Matchplay qualification with a 6-3 win against Sweden’s Johan Engstrom, after Martin Lukeman defeated Slovenia’s Benjamin Pratnemer by the same scoreline in Friday’s curtain-raiser.
The 16 PDC Order of Merit Qualifiers will now enter the fray in Saturday’s second round, as defending champion Anderson makes his return to European Tour action.
World number one Luke Humphries will take on Scutt, as three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen goes head-to-head with Van Duijvenbode in an all-Dutch encounter.
Live coverage from the European Darts Grand Prix 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 European Darts Grand Prix
Friday May 2
First Round
Afternoon Session
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Benjamin Pratnemer
Cameron Menzies 6-2 Michael Unterbuchner
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Gian van Veen 6-3 Nathan Rafferty
Connor Scutt 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Johan Engstrom
Leon Weber 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Evening Session
Daniel Klose 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Ryan Searle
Joe Cullen 6-0 Marcel Erba
Mike De Decker 6-4 Max Hopp
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Martin Schindler 6-3 Callan Rydz
Ross Smith 6-0 Paul Krohne
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 William O'Connor
Saturday May 3
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Danny Noppert v Wessel Nijman
Damon Heta v Martin Lukeman
Michael Smith v Daniel Klose
Gary Anderson v Gian van Veen
Chris Dobey v Luke Woodhouse
Nathan Aspinall v Niels Zonneveld
Rob Cross v Mike De Decker
Dave Chisnall v Ross Smith
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
James Wade v Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton v Andrew Gilding
Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright v Leon Weber
Michael van Gerwen v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Humphries v Connor Scutt
Josh Rock v Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting v Cameron Menzies