European Championship Friday evening Round-up | Luke Littler averages 105 in dominant victory as Michael van Gerwen dealt another devastating blow

The second night of action at the European Championship saw more title challengers kickstart their title quest in Dortmund. Most notably was Luke Littler, who was a man on a mission.

Littler returns to German soil in the search of the one major trophy that has eluded him. He has firm ambitions of getting over the line and ending his hoodoo in this tournament, and he began his quest to complete darts with an eye-catching 6-3 win against William O’Connor, whose first appearance since 2020 ended abruptly.

The two-time world champion has only won just a single match in this tournament. A surprising record when compared to other tournaments he has dominated in. An 11-dart hold got Littler into the match with a bang before breaking the throw on double two. A missed dart at tops proved to be costly in a game where he would need to be clinical.

Littler chose to split 36 instead of going for double 18, cleaning up on double five. O’Connor was in desperate need of a break and had a chance with the 107 after Littler missed more. He took it out on tops and was in the contest with a hold. 85 played 85, and both players missed the bull. Littler was the first to clean up before reclaiming that double break, again falling back on double five. The 105 was added to the ton+ checkouts by the Irishman who got one of the breaks back. He made it back-to-back legs on double 18 following a superb set-up shot. Littler stopped faffing around, leaving tops after 12 before a wayward dart left him on double 15 for the match. He averaged 105.05 despite missing 11 darts on the outer ring in a statement display ahead of a huge weekend in Dortmund.

Michael van Gerwen came to Dortmund a man in trouble. With him possibly ending the week outside of the top 10, he has lost his last four matches. Fellow countryman Kevin Doets was up next for the four-time champion, and was outclassed by the debutant, triumphing 6-3 with a fine performance.

Doets broke with a 106 checkout before a fantastic 132 finish on the bull extended his lead. Van Gerwen was in deep trouble. He missed the bull for a 170 finish, and ‘Hawkeye’ was the first to clean up. The bull was elusive for van Gerwen, failing to find a 161 outshot this time round but two legs on the spin closed the gap to 5-3. Doets upped the gears late on, leaving 41 after nine before beginning his maiden European Championship campaign with a bang. For van Gerwen, the struggle prolongs.

Nathan Aspinall is dubbed as a gritty and determined darter on the oche and showcased that with a bit of class at times to defeat Cristo Reyes 6-3. Breaks were traded in the first two games before Aspinall got ahead with the first hold. Missed doubles would prove pivotal as both players tried to seize the initiative. Reyes nabbed a 3-2 lead as Aspinall wasted opportunities to make it three legs in a row. A brilliant 134 checkout by ‘The Asp’ got him level at 3-3 and he had the throw. He would flex his muscles from this point even further with a 121 outshot. Reyes continued to miss, and a 90 checkout moved Aspinall one away. He got the job done a leg later to make it four legs on the spin in a defiant victory.

Jonny Clayton was also not at his best on the outer ring, but his scoring restricted Niko Spiringer from having much of a chance. He surged through in a 6-3 result. The first of the German involvements, Springer had not won a match on TV since the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts, and that poor form continues. ‘The Ferret’ was not glittering in the opening legs but was better than his opponent who was unable to muster up anything. Clayton led 3-0 with a 12-dart break in the midst of this. A 74 checkout got Springer in this contest. A 15-dart hold reinstated the three-leg buffer. Two legs later, Clayton had match darts but would be forced to see it out on throw. He almost did it with a 125 checkout, but had to settle on double eight.

There was a titanic clash involving the other German star. Following Springer’s demise, Martin Schindler had the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. He delivered on the big occasion, keeping his cool to defeat Wessel Nijman 6-5. A 14 and 15-darter got Schinder on his way to a 3-0 lead. Nijman soon had a three-leg burst of his own, taking out 100 as the highlight. ‘The Wall’ almost toppled that with the perfect leg being threatened but had to settle for a stunning 10-darter. A 127 finish hushed the partisan crowd, but they soon abrupted with noise thanks to a 121 on double eight by Schindler. Nijman forced a decider and waited on 72 for the match. He was a bystander as the German number one pinned tops for an 80 checkout to win a classic, sending the Westfalenhallen wild.

Dave Chisnall’s form continues to be a point of concern. A fourth consecutive European Championship exit at the first hurdle was confirmed in a 6-2 defeat to Krzysztof Ratajski. Checkouts of 72 and 104 made for a blistering start for ‘The Polish Eagle’ which was backed up with a 13-darter. ‘Chizzy’ was already floundering, a sight commonly seen on the big stage these days. He got a first leg on the board but failed to nab the break back as Ratajski got away with one to lead 4-1. A 17-dart break by Ratajski occurred thanks to Chisnall missing more darts at a double and was one away from the win. Chisnall went seven darts into the perfect leg and got one of the breaks back. The number three seed was not going to let this lead slip, eventually cleaning up a sloppy bull attempt with a third match dart to prevail.

Ryan Joyce, whose luggage did not make it to Dortmund, was forced to quickly adapt. He failed to against former finalist Jermaine Wattimena, who edged into the second round with a 6-3 win. Joyce’s doubling is his strong suit, but five missed at double 16 allowed Wattimena to storm back into the leg, with a 106 checkout on that target a fancy way to break, before backing it up with another hold. Another missed attempt on the outer ring was punished. A 120 finish put ‘The Machine Gun’ two breaks to the good. A missed big number against a clinical Wattimena was a recipe for disaster for Joyce. He would stage an attempted comeback, winning three legs on the spin with seven match darts being squandered. With a ninth match dart, the Dutchman finally got through despite a scrappy ending.

The final contest of the first round pitched Josh Rock and Chris Dobey against each other. Neither were playing their best game as of late. It was the Northern Irishman who improved his level, winning 6-1 with a 100.74 average. After both players held throw, an 11-dart break got the former World Cup winner an important lead. An 80 finish on double five backed up the break. Dobey’s doubling has been a point of weakness as of late, and it was eventually capitalised on by Rock who secured another break of throw. The former Masters champion was in a spot of bother, and a marvellous 154 checkout on tops put Rock one away from victory. A bounce out prevented a match dart on 80, but more sloppy efforts by Dobey allowed Rock back who culminated the evening in style.