Niko Springer stormed through to round two at the Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Open in Leverkusen, producing a clinical display of doubling to demolish Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Springer broke new ground in his fledgling career with a run to last weekend’s Dutch Darts Championship final, and the young German built on that momentum on his return to home soil.
The 24-year-old punished an off-colour display from Van Duijvenbode at the Ostermann-Arena, wrapping up a 6-1 victory to move through to a meeting with fourth seed Chris Dobey.
Friday’s first round saw 16 matches take place across the day, as Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson claimed the scalp of Raymond van Barneveld, punishing 18 missed darts at double from the five-time World Champion to complete a 6-3 success.
Harrysson – who also converted a 170 checkout en route - will now face another former World Champion Michael Smith, who is embroiled in a battle for World Matchplay qualification.
Van Barneveld currently occupies the final provisional place in July’s showpiece, after Ryan Joyce and Ricardo Pietreczko both eased through to round two to leapfrog the Dutchman in the World Matchplay race.
Joyce defeated a below-par Ricky Evans to confirm his progress, while Pietreczko overcame his compatriot and big stage debutant Moritz Bohrmann 6-2.
Jermaine Wattimena – also vying for World Matchplay qualification - whitewashed another newcomer in Joshua Hermann, as Daryl Gurney defeated Richard Veenstra 6-2 in Friday’s finale.
Former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding was another emphatic first round winner, averaging 97 to dispatch Host Nation Qualifier Kevin Knopf 6-1.
Wessel Nijman – a semi-finalist in Rosmalen last weekend – swept aside the returning Brendan Dolan in his opener, and his reward is a fascinating second round clash with two-time World Champion Gary Anderson.
Anderson will be joined in round two by his compatriot Cameron Menzies, who produced a late flurry to dump out 2015 runner-up Kim Huybrechts, reeling off five straight legs from 4-1 down.
Former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks also kicked off his campaign with a comeback win, relinquishing a 3-0 cushion before surviving five match darts to edge past Joe Cullen.
European Champion Ritchie Edhouse ran out a resounding 6-2 winner against Petr Krivka, replicating his victory over the Czech qualifier in April’s German Darts Grand Prix.
Luke Woodhouse progressed by the same 6-2 scoreline, turning on the style in the latter stages of his tie against Dragutin Horvat to set up a showdown against top seed Stephen Bunting.
However, Horvat’s fellow countryman Lukas Wenig prevailed on his return to home soil, fending off a valiant fightback from Niels Zonneveld to triumph in a decider.
Elsewhere, Mickey Mansell won through a gruelling last-leg shoot-out against William O’Connor, while Darryl Pilgrim and Matt Campbell saw off Madars Razma and Alan Soutar respectively on Friday afternoon.
Following Saturday’s second round, the third round will take place on Sunday afternoon, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a blockbuster evening session.
Live coverage from the European Darts Open will be streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through the DAZN Darts channel on Pluto TV.
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Open
Friday May 30
First Round
Afternoon Session
Darryl Pilgrim 6-3 Madars Razma
Ritchie Edhouse 6-2 Petr Krivka
Mickey Mansell 6-5 William O'Connor
Lukas Wenig 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Matt Campbell 6-4 Alan Soutar
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Joshua Hermann
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Kevin Knopf
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Evening Session
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-2 Moritz Bohrmann
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Ricky Evans
Andreas Harrysson 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Bradley Brooks 6-5 Joe Cullen
Niko Springer 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Dragutin Horvat
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Saturday May 31
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Ross Smith v Matt Campbell
Ryan Searle v Andrew Gilding
Damon Heta v Mickey Mansell
Danny Noppert v Ritchie Edhouse
Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies
Gary Anderson v Wessel Nijman
Mike De Decker v Ryan Joyce
Gian van Veen v Daryl Gurney
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Chris Dobey v Niko Springer
James Wade v Lukas Wenig
Peter Wright v Darryl Pilgrim
Jonny Clayton v Jermaine Wattimena
Michael Smith v Andreas Harrysson
Nathan Aspinall v Bradley Brooks
Martin Schindler v Ricardo Pietreczko
Stephen Bunting v Luke Woodhouse