In the second round of the Flanders Darts Trophy in Belgium, Michael van Gerwen suffered a crushing knockout defeat; Luke Littler convincingly defeated Dylan Slevin; Raymond van Barneveld, Dave Chisnall, Peter Wright. Rob Cross also exited the tournament before the last 16.
Pictured: Luke Littler reached the last 16 of the Flanders Darts Trophy with a convincing win.
Luke Littler cruised into the last 16 of the Flanders Darts Trophy with a confident victory over Dylan Slevin on Saturday, while Michael van Gerwen made a surprise early exit.
Day two of this year's tenth European Tour event saw 16 second round matches played in an epic day of competition at the Antwerp Xpo stadium, with Littler making a confident return to Belgium.
Jan van Veen produced a stunning victory, beating his idol and second seed Van Gerwen 6-3, helped by four 180-degree turns.
As for Littler, the world champion converted 100 per cent of his doubles and averaged more than 101 points in his first 6-0 win over Slevin this weekend.
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Littler, who won this year's Lecot Belgian Darts Open in Weeze, is targeting a second European Tour title this year.
“When I walked out on stage I felt at home straight away,” said Littler, who will play Ryan Searle in the round of 16. “I love coming here. I'm glad I played well tonight and now I can focus on tomorrow.”
“I want to win here, but it's only my first game. Six out of six in doubles – I don't usually do that, so I'm very happy.”
Image: Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock second-round exit to compatriot Jan van Veen
Stephen Bunting also impressed in Antwerp, averaging over 107 in his thrilling 6-1 win over Joe Cullen. The Bullet will face Josh Rock in a thrilling clash in the last 16.
Mario Vandenbogerde was the only Belgian to progress on Saturday, beating Johnny Clayton 6-3. He will face Danny Noppert in his first European Tour final.
Leon Weber sprung a surprise victory over reigning Flanders Darts Trophy holder Dave Chisnall 6-4 to set up a draw with James Wade in the last 16.
Wade easily beat Antwerp native Kim Huybrechts 6-3, while Martin Schindler eliminated Mike De Dekker 6-3 despite the Belgian number one hitting a 170.
World Cup of Darts winners Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney reached the final with 6-5 victories over Karel Sedlacek and Ross Smith respectively, with both Northern Irishmen surviving two match darts.
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Mensur Suljovic scored seven maximum points and converted 60 per cent of his doubles in a fine match against Rob Cross, with the Austrian legend winning 6-5 after a decider in the final match.
Luke Woodhouse easily beat the worst-performing Peter Wright 6-1 (the Scot averaged under 75) and Woodhouse will face Suljovic in the last 16.
The seeds continued to crumble as Krzysztof Ratajski, who entered the tournament from the reserve list, averaged over 98 points to beat Chris Dobie 6-3.
Danny Noppert, like Littler, converted 100 per cent of his doubles to beat fellow Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4, while Ryan Searle came back from 4-1 down to beat Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 in the decider of the last match.
Damon Heta comfortably beat Christian Kist 6-3 to set up a last-16 tie with Ryan Joyce, who reached the final by missing the match after Gerwyn Price withdrew with an infected hand.
Flanders Darts Trophy Schedule and Results
Friday, August 29
Round 1 – 12:00 (UK time)
Leon Weber 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Dylan Slevin 6-3 Francois Schweyen
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Johan Engstrom
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Lukas Wenig
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Steve Lennon
Christian Kist 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Gian van Veen 6-2 Adam Gawlas
First round – 18:00
Mario Vandenbogerde 6-5 Michael Smith
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Joe Cullen 6-1 Ian White
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Wessel Neumann
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Jeffrey De Graaf
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Callan Reeds
Mike De Decker 6-3 Martin Lukeman
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Xanthi Van den Berg
Saturday, August 30
Second round – 12:00
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Rob Cross
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Peter Wright
Leon Weber 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Josh Rock 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
Damon Heta 6-3 Christian Keast
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Chris Dobie
Danny Noppert 6-4 Dirk van Duivenbode
Second round – 18:00
James Wade 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Ryan Searle 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Ross Smith
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Joe Cullen
Luke Littler 6-0 Dylan Slevin
Jan van Veen 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Martin Schindler 6-3 Mike De Decker
Mario Vandenbogerde 6-3 Johnny Clayton
Sunday, August 31st
Last 16 – 12 pm
Luke Littler vs Ryan Searle
Damon Heta vs Ryan Joyce
Danny Noppert vs Mario Vandenbogerde
Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Daryl Gurney
Jan van Veen vs. Martin Schindler
James Wade vs Leon Weber
Stephen Bunting vs Josh Rock
Mensur Suljovic vs Luke Woodhouse
18:00
Quarter-finals*
Semi-finals*
The final
*Games on Sunday are played in bracket order.
Flanders Darts Trophy Cash Prize
- First round: £1250
- Round 2: £2,500
- Last 16: £4,000
- Quarter finals: £6,000
- Semi-finals: £8,000
- Second place: £12,000
- Champion: £30,000
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