European Championship Friday Round-Up | Luke Humphries sends statement with near 110 average as Luke Littler eases past Van Barneveld

Luke Littler continued his blistering form at the European Championship on Friday night, storming past Raymond van Barneveld 6–1 to reach the last 16 in Dortmund.

The world champion’s dominant display headlined an evening that also saw Luke Humphries and Cameron Menzies impress, while Nathan Aspinall continued his incredible form as of late seeing off Rob Cross with ease.

It was a difficult night for five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld, who struggled to keep pace with the relentless Luke Littler. The 18-year-old didn’t start strongly but quickly punished Barney’s lack of big scoring to move 2–0 ahead with 18- and 19-dart legs.

Van Barneveld responded with a 14-darter to halve the deficit, only to miss five darts to level the match. Littler punished those errors with a 68 checkout before switching darts — a move that paid immediate dividends. The world champion reeled off a 12-darter for 4–1 and then produced a 10-darter followed by a 115 finish to complete a comprehensive 6–1 win.
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Littler averaged 98.97 to Van Barneveld’s 87.86, hitting three 180s and checking out at 46%. He will face James Wade in the last 16 after “The Machine” cruised past Mike De Decker by the same 6–1 scoreline.

World number one Luke Humphries produced the performance of the first round, demolishing Krzysztof Ratajski 6–0 with a stunning 109.98 average — the highest of the night. “Cool Hand Luke” set the tone with back-to-back 180s and a 12-darter, and though Ratajski had early chances, Humphries never relented. Two more 12-darters and an 11-darter sealed a ruthless whitewash as the world champion underlined his title credentials.

Humphries now meets Cameron Menzies, who claimed a memorable 6–3 victory over his compatriot Gary Anderson. Making his European Championship debut, Menzies raced 2–0 ahead before Anderson hit a 13-darter and a brilliant 164 checkout. “The Flying Scotsman” couldn’t maintain that level, missing key doubles to tie the game, and Menzies punished him to move 5–3 in front. The 36-year-old then sealed the deal in style with a superb 12-darter to set up a blockbuster meeting with Humphries.

Danny Noppert came out on top in an all-Dutch clash, defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 6–3 to reach the last 16. After losing their previous two European Championship meetings, “The Freeze” finally got his revenge with a superb 104.88 average.

Noppert grabbed the first break with an 11-darter to move 3–1 ahead and extended his lead with a 110 checkout for 4–1. Van Duijvenbode responded with a 14-darter but was unable to pressure Noppert’s throw. The former UK Open champion closed out the contest with a 13-darter to secure a meeting with top seed Nathan Aspinall, who breezed past Rob Cross 6–1.

Aspinall continued his terrific run of form as he took down the two-time champion with four 180's and 100.5 average. This after winning three European Tours and also winning the last one in Hildesheim this past week.

Jermaine Wattimena, last year’s surprise European Championship finalist, also advanced thanks to a 6–3 victory over Niko Springer. “The Machine Gun” came out firing with legs of 13, 14, 12 and 11 darts to storm 4–1 ahead.

Springer briefly threatened a comeback but missed four darts to level at 4–4, allowing Wattimena to capitalise on double 16 before wrapping up the match with a 14-darter. The Dutchman now faces Ricardo Pietreczko, who caused one of the night’s biggest upsets by defeating Josh Rock 6–4.