Daryl Gurney subjected Gerwyn Price to another early exit in a televised ranking tournament as he prevailed 6-3 on the opening night of the European Championship in Dortmund on Thursday.
A dramatic opening night at the Westfalenhallen also saw two of the top four seeds crash out and a number of surprisingly one-sided scorelines.
Having defeated Price in last month’s World Series Finals, Gurney made it back-to-back televised wins over the Welshman as he averaged 99 and landed three 180s in an impressive display.
Price, who averaged 96.6, revealed in an Instagram post after the match that he has only two tournaments remaining in 2024 and intends to take a month’s break from competitive action, meaning he could miss the upcoming Grand Slam of Darts.
Gurney will meet Dirk van Duijvenbode in the Last 16 on Saturday after the Dutchman dumped out number one seed Martin Schindler by the same scoreline.
Van Duijvenbode, who was the last player to secure a place in the European Championship, defied a 101.8 average from the German to silence the partisan home crowd with the aid of four maximums.
“I felt a little bit nervous when I was 5-1 up,” admitted Van Duijvenbode, who continues his resurgence after a lengthy injury setback.
“I’ve been at rock bottom [over the last year], but in the last three weeks I’ve been able to practice again for the first time in a year.
“I think my averages and performances are getting closer to where they used to be, so I’m happy!”
Meanwhile, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson will renew their rivalry in the Second Round after enjoying dominant victories on opening night.
Four-time champion Van Gerwen brushed aside German star Gabriel Clemens 6-1 with a 100 average, landing checkouts of 116 and 122 along the way.
“You always need to be sharp in this short format,” admitted Van Gerwen.
“I am enjoying my darts again and I think you need to have that if you want to perform well.
“You want to keep performing well, because there’s still a lot to fight for, and I think this is a really important tournament for me.”
Anderson also registered a ton-plus average (100.8) as he overcame Masters champion Stephen Bunting 6-3.
Anderson, making his first European Championship appearance since 2016, claimed four of the last five legs to mark a winning return.
“I felt like I scored well tonight,” reflected Anderson, the 2015 European Championship runner-up.
“Me and Michael have had some belters; apart from winning the World Championship, the best game I ever played in was when I beat Michael in Dubai!
“It would be fantastic to get my hands on this title, but there’s no pressure and no expectation on me.”
Michael Smith powered his way to a whitewash win over fourth seed Dave Chisnall, landing checkouts of 104, 148 and 161 as he punished 12 missed darts at doubles from his opponent.
Ritchie Edhouse produced the stand-out performance of the opening night, averaging 109.5 to thrash last year’s semi-finalist Gian van Veen 6-1.
The 41-year-old registering a trio of 12-darters and fired in checkouts of 145 and 110 in his most clinical televised display to date.
Ryan Searle was another emphatic winner on Night One as he swept aside Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 with a 101.6 average and a high checkout of 121.
Van Barneveld registered a ten-darter in leg six to avoid a whitewash, but a ruthless Searle later wrapped up victory with a 13-darter to set up a second round clash against Luke Woodhouse.
Woodhouse marked his European Championship debut with a 6-1 thrashing of 2022 champion Ross Smith – for whom defeat sees him drop 11 places to 20th in the Order of Merit.
European Darts Championship 2024 Day One Results
Thursday October 24
First Round
Gian van Veen 1-6 Ritchie Edhouse
Gerwyn Price 3-6 Daryl Gurney
Ross Smith 1-6 Luke Woodhouse
Stephen Bunting 3-6 Gary Anderson
Ryan Searle 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Gabriel Clemens
Martin Schindler 3-6 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Dave Chisnall 0-6 Michael Smith
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