Van Gerwen survives Huybrechts scare at the German Darts Grand Prix as Littler crushes Crabtree

Michael van Gerwen survived a scare to deny Kim Huybrechts in a deciding leg in Round Two of the German Darts Grand Prix on Sunday, as Luke Littler thrashed Cam Crabtree.

Day Two of the season’s fourth European Tour event saw 16 Second Round ties take place across two sessions in Munich, with six seeds crashing out.

Van Gerwen survived three missed match darts to edge out Huybrechts 6-5, even though the Dutchman posted an average in excess of 102.

Van Gerwen, who almost squandered a 3-1 lead, broke back from 5-4 down thanks to crucial missed doubles from Huybrechts, and closed out victory with a timely 13-darter.

“It was definitely a rollercoaster,” admitted Van Gerwen. “I’m not going through the easiest patch in my life, so I’m battling for every win I can.

“When things are hard and things are not going your way, it’s a tough game, but I’m glad I battled through; it was a really important win for myself.”

Top seed Littler, meanwhile, breezed into the Last 16 courtesy of a 6-1 rout of Crabtree 6-1 with a 107 average, winning all of his legs in 15 darts or fewer,

“Everything went well there, I’m very happy,” said Littler. “It’s my first time in Munich and hopefully I can pick up another trophy by tomorrow.

“If I play like this again tomorrow, I’ll be happy.”

Littler will now face Joe Cullen on Sunday afternoon, after the Yorkshireman dispatched Grand Slam semi-finalist Mickey Mansell 6-2 earlier in the day.

There was home delight for Martin Schindler – who produced an excellent display on the outer-ring to seal his second successive 6-1 rout of Jonny Clayton on the European Tour.

Ryan Joyce produced the only whitewash of the day, thrashing ninth seed Damon Heta with a 101 average in his third straight win over the Australian number one.

Josh Rock also averaged over a ton in his eighth straight victory over Scott Williams, prevailing 6-2 with the aid of five 180s and 50 per cent on the doubles.

Gian van Veen also registered five maximums and 50 per cent on the doubles in his 6-4 win over Andrew Gilding with a 99.2 average.

Gerywn Price crashed Raymond van Barneveld’s 58th birthday party, defeating the Dutch legend 6-3, whilst Ross Smith recovered from 3-0 down to overcome Jermaine Wattimena 6-4.

The Munich crowd was silenced when Rob Cross overcame Ricardo Pietreczko 6-4, while former German Darts Grand Prix champion Michael Smith was also dumped out 6-4 by Krzysztof Ratajski.

Peter Wright prodicued two ton-plus checkouts in his 6-3 victory over Mike De Decker, as Madars Razma and Ryan Searle ran out comfortable 6-2 winners over Danny Noppert and Cameron Menzies respectively.

Niels Zonneveld dismantled James Wade 6-2 with a 100.4 average to continue his fine run of form, while Dave Chisnall produced a 147 checkout to close out a 6-3 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.

German Darts Grand Prix 2025 Day Two Results

Sunday April 20

Second Round

Afternoon Session
Danny Noppert 2-6 Madars Razma
Damon Heta 0-6 Ryan Joyce
Andrew Gilding 4-6 Gian van Veen
Ryan Searle 6-2 Cameron Menzies
Josh Rock 6-2 Scott Williams
Rob Cross 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Michael Smith 4-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
Joe Cullen 6-2 Mickey Mansell

Evening Session
James Wade 2-6 Niels Zonneveld
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Luke Littler 6-1 Cam Crabtree
Peter Wright 6-3 Mike De Decker
Jonny Clayton 1-6 Martin Schindler
Ross Smith 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena