Franz Roetsch hands Michael van Gerwen first round exit as Players Championhip 11 gets underway

Michael van Gerwen did not make it past the first round of the 11th Players Championship tournament on Tuesday. 'Mighty Mike' had to admit defeat in the opening round 6-4 to Franz Roetzsch.

Two of the first three legs went to the Dutchman, but Van Gerwen then handled his chances on the doubles sloppily and saw the next three legs all go to Roetzsch. Van Gerwen then failed to make up that break deficit, despite chances in the eighth and tenth leg. With a 17-darter in the tenth leg, Roetzsch ended the three-time world champion's tournament.

Michael Smith survived a scare and advanced a round after a 6-5 victory over James Hurrell. Josh Rock also needed a deciding leg against Keegan Brown, while Damon Heta managed to win the Australian showdown against Simon Whitlock 6-2. Ian White immediately took care of the elimination of Dave Chisnall, who led the seeding list in Hildesheim. The Diamond defeated his English compatriot 6-3. Danny Lauby was responsible for the elimination of Joe Cullen with a 6-3 victory.

All matches of the four stream courses will be broadcast live via PDCTV. To do this, you need to create an account and purchase a subscription. There is a monthly subscription (£9.99) and annual subscription (£59.99) available. It is also possible to take out a two-day subscription for £3.99.

Also, live streams are available through various betting sites. With these websites, you usually need a balance of at least five euros to access the stream offerings.