Stephen Bunting stuns Michael van Gerwen at the Baltic Sea Darts Open

Stephen Bunting ended a seven-year wait for a win over Michael van Gerwen in Round Two of the Baltic Sea Darts Open in Kiel on Saturday.

Bunting punished a slack display of finishing from Van Gerwen as he clinched a 6-4 victory to reach the Last 16 of the season’s opening European Tour event.

A thrilling contest saw Van Gerwen miss double 12 for a nine-dart finish in the seventh leg, though the Dutchman pinned double six in his next visit to take a 4-3 lead.

But a hat-trick of legs from Bunting earned him a rare win over the world number three – who squandered 12 darts at doubles during the contest.

“If you want to win tournaments like this in front of great crowds you need to be beating people like Michael van Gerwen,” said Bunting.

“It was a great game. If he hit the nine-darter it probably would’ve changed the game.

“I’ve put a lot of effort in and I’m playing as well as anyone at the moment.

“The record [against Van Gerwen] was in the back of my mind, but I’m playing better than ever and this result shows that.”

Meanwhile, Steve Beaton continued his fine run of form with a 6-5 scalp of Premier League star Nathan Aspinall.

On the back of a 106 average in his First Round win over Adrian Lewis, Beaton trailed throughout the contest with Aspinall, but his persistence was rewarded as he battled his way to a deciding leg victory.

Further upsets on Day Two saw world number six Rob Cross and UK Open champion Danny Noppert crash out at the hands of Martijn Dragt and Keegan Brown respectively.

Dragt secured the biggest win of his career, dumping out fourth seed Cross in a dramatic last-leg decider, while Brown punished a below-par display from Noppert, winning four consecutive legs to celebrate a resounding 6-3 win.

Peter Wright got the better of James Wade 6-3 in a star-studded battle, while World Champion Michael Smith defied a wrist injury to see off German prospect Niko Springer 6-4.

Welsh Premier League stars Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton secured their places in the Last 16 thanks to comfortable wins over Graham Usher and Ted Evetts respectively.

Dimitri Van den Bergh reeled off four consecutive legs from 3-2 down to defeat Ritchie Edhouse in his opener, fending off a blistering start from the Enfield ace to triumph with a 97 average.

Martin Schindler ran out a 6-4 winner over Lukas Wenig in a battle between two of Germany’s top talents.

Third seed Damon Heta and Dave Chisnall both averaged over 100 in comprehensive victories over Bradley Brooks and Lewy Williams respectively.

Luke Humphries, a winner of four European Tour titles in 2022, made a strong start to his campaign with a 6-1 demolition of Daryl Gurney.

Joe Cullen fired in six 180s and a 164 checkout in a 6-4 success over Arron Monk, while Dirk van Duijvenbode overcame fellow Dutchman Richard Veenstra 6-3.

Recent ProTour event winner Ryan Searle thrashed Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-1 to seal his spot in Sunday afternoon’s Third Round.

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Baltic Sea Darts Open 2023 Day Two Results

Saturday February 25

Second Round

Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Ryan Searle 6-1 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Rob Cross 5-6 Martijn Dragt
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Lewy Williams
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
Joe Cullen 6-4 Arron Monk
Damon Heta 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Danny Noppert 3-6 Keegan Brown
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Richard Veenstra

Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Nathan Aspinall 5-6 Steve Beaton
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Ted Evetts
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Graham Usher
Luke Humphries 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith 6-4 Niko Springer
Peter Wright 6-3 James Wade
Michael van Gerwen 4-6 Stephen Bunting
Martin Schindler 6-4 Lukas Wenig