Andrew Gilding pulled off a shock 6-4 victory over Luke Littler in Round One of the European Championship in Dortmund on Friday, as Jermaine Wattimena dethroned Peter Wright.
Day Two of the £600,000 major saw the remaining eight First Round ties take place at the Westfalenhalle, with Littler, Wright and two-time champion Rob Cross amongst the notable casualties.
Littler enjoyed a record-breaking campaign at last weekend’s Czech Darts Open, but his debut European Championship hopes were ended abruptly by a clinical Gilding.
The former UK Open champion raced into a 3-0 lead, and though Littler responded with a three-leg burst to draw level, Gilding kept his cool to seal a memorable victory with a 99 average.
“It’s the last thing I expected really, especially with the way Luke has played lately,” admitted Gilding.
“It’s the third time I’ve played Luke, and tonight it was a case of third time lucky!
“This is a huge win for me. I was thinking about my flight home tomorrow to be honest, but maybe that helped me to relax!”
Gilding will now face Ricardo Pietreczko in Saturday’s Second Round, after the German star preserved home hopes thanks to a dramatic deciding-leg success over Damon Heta.
Pietreczko recovered from 5-3 down with three straight legs to edge out the Australian number one, producing a nerveless 102 checkout in the decider to complete the comeback with a 100.5 average.
“This is a really important win for me,” reflected Pietreczko.
“Damon is a great sportsman and a great player, but I am really happy to win this game. I seem to like making comebacks!
“Martin and Gabriel are both great players, but after they both lost, it’s all eyes on me now.”
Meanwhile, Wright became the sixth consecutive reigning champion to lose in the opening round of the European Championship as he went down 6-0 to a ruthless Wattimena.
The two-time World Champion endured an evening to forget at the Westfalenhalle, averaging just 74 as Wattimena raced through to a showdown against 2018 champion James Wade.
Wade overcame Cross 6-3 in a battle of former European Champions, averaging 100.7 and landing four 180s to send another two-time winner packing.
Cross kept himself in contention with clinical 117 and 140 checkouts, but Wade’s superior scoring power proved decisive as the left-hander continued his impressive record in Dortmund.
“It was a steady performance,” reflected Wade. “I probably let Rob in on a few occasions, but he took out some tremendous finishes.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, who I play or what tournament it is – the only thing that matters is what James turns up, and if I’m focused, I’m pretty dangerous.”
World number one Luke Humphries made no mistake as he swept aside Nathan Aspinall 6-2 with a 106.5 average.
The reigning World Champion fired in seven 180s as he opened his bid for a maiden European Championship title, producing checkouts of 122 and 152 along the way.
“It was a very good night for me,” said Humphries, a two-time winner on the European Tour in 2024.
“I knew I had a really tough game against Nathan. He is an incredible player and I had to play as well as I did to win.
“I class Nathan as one of the toughest players to beat. He is so determined, but I felt relaxed tonight and put on a good show there.”
Humphries will now meet Jonny Clayton in Round Two after the Welshman defied seven maximums from former Masters champion Chris Dobey to close out an impressive 6-4 win.
Newly-crowned World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker also prevailed on his European Championship debut, continuing his fine form with a 6-1 rout of a struggling Josh Rock.
De Decker will lock horns with Danny Noppert in Round Two, after the Dutchman kicked off Friday’s action with a commanding 6-2 victory over Joe Cullen, sealing the deal with a fabulous 170 checkout.
European Darts Championship 2024 Day Two Results
Friday October 25
First Round
Danny Noppert 6-2 Joe Cullen
Chris Dobey 4-6 Jonny Clayton
Rob Cross 6-3 James Wade
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Damon Heta
Peter Wright 0-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Littler 4-6 Andrew Gilding
Luke Humphries 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Josh Rock 1-6 Mike De Decker
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