German Darts Championship 2019 schedule: Friday evening session

More on him later. First up on the schedule in Hildesheim is Jamie Hughes, who has admitted that the European Tour is a major focus this year. He's tipped for big things. A tilt at the German Darts Championship begins against the totemic Pole, Tytus Kanik.
There's always one lucky pair which gets to play off for the right to be dumped out in the second round by Michael van Gerwen. This time, it's Keegan Brown and Madars Razma, the lucky so-and-so's.
German interest in the evening session starts in game three. Steffen Siepmann plays Mickey Mansell, who you assume will be really, really super keen to play to the best of his ability.
Diogo Portela makes just his second European Tour foray in Hildesheim. It's a tricky fixture for the Brazilian - Mervyn King is a strong opponent. Following that, Maik Langendorf takes on Mario Robbe.
Gabriel Clemens might be seen by some as Germany's main hope in the tournament. He'd play Gerwyn Price in round two. Former World Championship finalist Mark Dudbridge will have other ideas.
If we're all very good and pray to the right deities, we can watch Steve Beaton for a long time yet. The Bronzed Adonis shows no sign of slowing down. He'll be wary of the next young whippersnapper to cross his path - Dimitri van den Bergh was impressive against James Wade in the Premier League. But there's nobody Beaton can't beat.
Rounding off the first round is UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall. It's been slow going for him since his Minehead triumph; a strong run here would be a great way to get going again. The World Championship semi-finalist meets home nation qualifier Mike Holz on Friday evening. Holz is the only player in the competition not to have his own Wikipedia page. Make of that what you will.
Click here for more information about the PDC European Tour, including the format, calendar and the prize fund breakdown.

Dave Prins (88.33) 2-6 (96.29) Simon Stevenson
Martin Atkins (Leeds) (90.95) 2-6 (100.71) Luke Humphries
Ricky Evans (88.65) 6-4 (93.10) Robert Thornton
Jyhan Artut (75.10) 0-6 (96.97) Boris Koltsov
Mike de Decker (92.55) 3-6 (98.02) Andrew Gilding
Kevin Knopf (72.75) 6-4 (76.11) Scott Taylor
Ron Meulenkamp (85.43) 6-4 (90.19) Kim Viljanen
Josh Payne (88.08) 4-6 (98.14) Andy Boulton

Tytus Kanik v Jamie Hughes Keegan Brown v Madars Razma Steffen Siepmann v Mickey Mansell Diogo Portela v Mervyn King Maik Langendorf v Mario Robbe Mark Dudbridge v Gabriel Clemens Steve Beaton v Dimitri Van den Bergh Mike Holz v Nathan Aspinall