Gian van Veen takes down James Wilson in entertaining clash as Arron Monk silences home crowd with Florian Hempel win

Gian van Veen has moved into the second round at the German Darts Championship after a win over James Wilson. On Saturday, he will play former world champion Rob Cross.

Van Veen and Wilson treated the audience in Hildesheim to an entertaining duel. Van Veen missed four chances in the second leg to break Wilson, after which the Englishman himself hit a 12-darter to take a 3-1 lead.

With a 156 finish and a 15-darter Van Veen came back to 3-3, after which the Dutchman took the lead with a 107 finish for 4-3. Wilson also showed he could throw high finishes, as a 140 check-out made it 4-4. Van Veen then hit 60 twice to put a 6-4 final score on the scoreboard.

While Arron Monk produced a superb display to down Florian Hempel and reach the second round. 'Mad Monk' making his European Tour return silenced the partisan crowd in Hildesheim.

It was a 6-4 win as Monk hit 66% on the doubles and will return on Saturday.