Gian van Veen curtailed Luke Humphries’ bid for a third consecutive Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals title on Friday, as Luke Littler stormed through to Round Two in Minehead.
Day One of the £600,000 tournament saw 32 matches split across the Main Stage and Stage Two on a marathon day of action, as Van Veen and Humphries played out a deciding-leg epic, in a repeat of last month’s European Championship showpiece.
Humphries raced into a commanding 3-0 lead, only for Van Veen – aided by a sensational 161 checkout – to win five of the last six legs to establish a 5-4 cushion.
The Dutchman then squandered two match darts in leg ten, but he maintained his composure in the decider to record a fourth consecutive victory over Humphries.
Littler, however, averaged 104.46 in his 6-1 demolition of Jeffrey de Graaf, pinning six of his eight attempts at double and rounding off the contest with a hat-trick of 14-darters.
“It felt amazing being introduced as the world number one,” admitted the 18-year-old, who is chasing a sixth televised ranking title of the year.
“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve had [in my career,] and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Top seed Gerwyn Price opened his title challenge with an emphatic 6-2 win against Max Hopp, which featured a magnificent 154 checkout midway through proceedings.
However, second seed Wessel Nijman was dumped out in a decider by his fellow countryman Richard Veenstra, despite averaging 102.41 and landing five maximums.
Former finalists Jonny Clayton, Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall also suffered opening round exits, succumbing to James Hurrell, Sebastian Bialecki and Ryan Joyce respectively.
Joyce will take on sixth seed Jermaine Wattimena for a place in the last 16, after Wattimena averaged almost 102 to win through his all-Dutch encounter against Wesley Plaisier.
World number four Stephen Bunting and 2018 winner Daryl Gurney will also go head-to-head, following comfortable wins over Ritchie Edhouse and Brendan Dolan on Day One.
Gurney is one of three former champions left standing at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, after Scottish icons Gary Anderson and Peter Wright also made winning returns.
Anderson defeated Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-2 to book a meeting with German number two Ricardo Pietreczko, who condemned William O’Connor to a fourth straight opening round exit at this event.
Wright, meanwhile, completed a 6-3 success against Joe Cullen to set up a heavyweight showdown against world number six James Wade, who saw off Mickey Mansell by the same scoreline.
Danny Noppert maintained his sparkling form, averaging 103.84 to dispatch Ricky Evans and set up a clash against Madars Razma, who accounted for another Dutchman in Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Elsewhere, Germany’s Martin Schindler came out on top against former World Champion Michael Smith, while Josh Rock preserved his hopes courtesy of a routine 6-3 success against Gabriel Clemens.
Nathan Aspinall produced a magical 170 checkout on his way to a 6-3 victory over Czech number one Karel Sedlacek, in a high-quality affair which featured eight maximums.
Kevin Doets also reeled in the 170 finish during his tie against Callan Rydz, although it came in a losing cause as Rydz moved through to an encounter against 2021 runner-up Ryan Searle.
Searle delivered a doubling masterclass in toppling Darren Beveridge 6-1, before fourth seed Ross Smith swept aside Ryan Meikle in identical fashion to create a fascinating tie against Littler.
Andrew Gilding survived nine match darts in overturning a 5-3 deficit against Dom Taylor, and the former UK Open champion will now play Justin Hood, who dumped out third seed Damon Heta on debut.
Cam Crabtree also enjoyed a debut to remember, rallying from 4-1 down to deny former World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker and advance to a meeting with fifth seed Chris Dobey.
Dobey demolished Ireland’s Keane Barry in Friday’s finale, punishing a profligate display from the young Irishman to wrap up a crushing 6-1 victory.
Krzysztof Ratajski also won through a scrappy affair against a struggling Raymond van Barneveld, and Poland's number one will face European Champion Van Veen for a spot in Round Three.
Bradley Brooks and Adam Lipscombe will also collide tomorrow afternoon, after kicking off their campaigns with 6-1 thrashings against Martin Lukeman and Cameron Menzies.
Scott Williams, Luke Woodhouse and Nick Kenny completed the Round Two line-up, courtesy of wins over Ian White, Alan Soutar and Niels Zonneveld respectively.
Round Two will take place across both stages on Saturday afternoon, which will be followed by Round Three later in the evening, as the Stage Two action draws to a close in Minehead.
The 2025 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals is being broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay.
Coverage is also being broadcast on PDCTV (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland), while action from Stage Two will be broadcast worldwide on PDCTV on Saturday.
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals
Friday November 21
Round One
Afternoon Session
Main Stage
Sebastian Bialecki 6-2 Rob Cross
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Cam Crabtree 6-5 Mike De Decker
Danny Noppert 6-2 Ricky Evans
James Wade 6-3 Mickey Mansell
James Hurrell 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Ross Smith 6-1 Ryan Meikle
Stage Two
Bradley Brooks 6-1 Martin Lukeman
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Dom Taylor
Scott Williams 6-2 Ian White
Nick Kenny 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Callan Rydz 6-4 Kevin Doets
Adam Lipscombe 6-1 Cameron Menzies
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Alan Soutar
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 William O'Connor
Evening Session
Main Stage
Martin Schindler 6-4 Michael Smith
Josh Rock 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Max Hopp
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Luke Littler 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Gian van Veen 6-5 Luke Humphries
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Chris Dobey 6-1 Keane Barry
Stage Two
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Wesley Plaisier
Ryan Searle 6-1 Darren Beveridge
Richard Veenstra 6-5 Wessel Nijman
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Madars Razma 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Gary Anderson 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Peter Wright 6-3 Joe Cullen
Justin Hood 6-4 Damon Heta
Saturday November 22
Afternoon Session (1245-1700 GMT)
Round Two
Main Stage
Stephen Bunting v Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright v James Wade
Richard Veenstra v Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price v Sebastian Bialecki
Ross Smith v Luke Littler
Gian van Veen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Josh Rock v Scott Williams
Stage Two
James Hurrell v Luke Woodhouse
Adam Lipscombe v Bradley Brooks
Ryan Searle v Callan Rydz
Jermaine Wattimena v Ryan Joyce
Martin Schindler v Nick Kenny
Ricardo Pietreczko v Gary Anderson
Justin Hood v Andrew Gilding
Chris Dobey v Cam Crabtree
Danny Noppert v Madars Razma
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three
Main Stage
Schedule TBC
Stage Two
Schedule TBC