Live Darts on Saturday | European Darts Championship 2025 Day Three Preview and Order of Play
The second round action takes centre stage at the European Darts Championship in Dortmund on Saturday as a host of big names go head-to-head.
The opening round of the prestigious ranked major saw four of the top eight seeds crash out, though a number of key contenders put down an immediate marker.
A significant increase in format awaits across a double session on Saturday, with three former European Champions among those bidding to reach Sunday’s quarter-finals.
The afternoon session features a showdown between four-time European Champion Michael van Gerwen and fellow Premier League star Chris Dobey.
The pair notably met in the semi-finals of the World Championship back in January, with Van Gerwen running out a crushing six sets to one winner, and the Dutchman has won 22 of their 28 previous meetings in total.
Van Gerwen survived a major scare in his opener on Thursday, with Wessel Nijman squandering seven match darts to gift his compatriot a reprieve.
Dobey, meanwhile, defied a tournament record losing average of 109.2 from Stephen Bunting to seal a 6-3 victory in an epic contest with a 105.7 average of his own.
The opening match of the afternoon sees World Youth Champion Gian van Veen take on former major finalist Ryan Searle.
Van Veen has reached the quarter-finals of both the UK Open and World Matchplay this season as well as a European Tour final and has secured a maiden Players Championship title.
The 23-year-old reached his maiden major semi-final here two years ago and set his stall out again by dispatching Damon Heta 6-3 with a 98.7 average on opening night.
Searle saw off seventh seed Jonny Clayton 6-3 to reach the second round of this event for the fourth time in five appearances.
German number one Martin Schindler looks to make home advantage count once again when he takes on European Darts Trophy finalist Ryan Joyce.
Schindler ended a run of five consecutive first round exits at the European Championship by overcoming Dave Chisnall in a deciding leg with a 104 average, while Joyce marked his debut in this competition with a comfortable 6-3 win over Luke Woodhouse.
Ross Smith, the 2022 European Champion, comes up against two-time semi-finalist Daryl Gurney.
Smith, twice a Players Championship event winner this season, safely saw off Peter Wright 6-2 in round one, while Gurney gained revenge on rival Gerwyn Price for July’s World Matchplay defeat as he sealed a memorable 6-3 success.
The evening session features ties from the top half of the draw, including World Champion Luke Littler up against 2018 European Champion James Wade.
The pair have already contested two major finals this year, with Littler coming out on top to claim glory at both the UK Open and World Matchplay.
Only the World Masters and this title are missing from Littler’s résumé of televised ranking titles, with the 18-year-old having most recently added the World Grand Prix in Leicester last month.
A potentially historic weekend for ‘The Nuke’ could see him become world number one for the first time, and he began by thrashing Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 on Friday evening.
Wade, who has appeared in all but one staging of this tournament since 2008 and is defending his runner-up prize money from two years ago, also enjoyed a crushing 6-1 win over Mike De Decker in round one.
Luke Humphries looks to pick up from where he left off in a devastating first round display on Friday when he faces debutant Cameron Menzies.
Humphries averaged 110 and took littler over ten minutes to whitewash Krzysztof Ratajski, and he now meets Menzies in back-to-back ranked majors, having prevailed 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
Menzies pulled off a memorable 6-3 win over Scottish compatriot Gary Anderson on Friday and is now up to a career-high 25th on the live Order of Merit.
Number one seed Nathan Aspinall is another player bidding to maintain his prolific run of form when he faces a familiar opponent in Danny Noppert.
Aspinall claimed his third European Tour title of the year at the German Championship in Hildesheim last Sunday and registered another ton-plus average in a 6-1 rout of Rob Cross in round one at the Westfalenhallen.
Noppert continued his vastly improved maximum hitting by landing seven 180s in a 6-3 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode and is aiming to reach what would be a fifth consecutive European Championship quarter-final.
The opening match of the night sees home hero Ricardo Pietreczko face last year’s runner-up Jermaine Wattimena.
Pietreczko put out World Cup winner Josh Rock in round one and a further victory here would see him return to the world’s top 32.
Wattimena finds himself in a sensational vein of form, having picked up two Players Championship titles in the space of three months, and the rapid Dutchman will have no fear of facing German opposition after averaging 106.8 in defeating Niko Springer on Friday.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with second round ties to be contested over the best of 19 legs.
WATCH THE EUROPEAN DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | Geo Restrictions may apply | Please Gamble Responsibly
European Darts Championship 2025 Day Three Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Saturday October 25
Second Round
Afternoon Session (11.45am-4pm)
Ryan Searle v Gian van Veen
Daryl Gurney v Ross Smith
Martin Schindler v Ryan Joyce
Chris Dobey v Michael van Gerwen
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jermaine Wattimena
Nathan Aspinall v Danny Noppert
Luke Littler v James Wade
Luke Humphries v Cameron Menzies
