German Darts Grand Prix Saturday Afternoon Round-up | Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman falter at the first hurdle as Joe Cullen wrong side of seismic upset

The opening session of the German Darts Grand Prix saw a whole heap of surprises. One of these darters on the end of a negative result was Joe Cullen, who was on the losing end of a Pro Tour final in Leicester earlier in the week. That form seemed to have banished the second he touched down in Munich with Patrick Kovacs causing a seismic upset, defeating the former Masters champion 6-3.

Cullen pinned double 16 to safely get out of the blocks before breathing a sigh of relief when the Hungarian missed double 12 for a 144. 'The Rockstar' found double 10 to break.

While it may have been expected that he would race off into the distance, Kovacs reeled him in thanks to some dreadful legs from his opponent and levelled at 2-2. At 3-3, Kovacs took out a remarkable 50 outshot shere he missed the big number twice before nailing double 13 to break and take the lead for the first time.

He was then afforded six darts to move within one of the match ahead of sealing his first Euro Tour win at the eighth time of asking, dropping to the floor as his ecstatic fanbase went wild. Kovacs has become the first Hungarian to win a Euro Tour match outside of Hungary, pouncing on a dreadful Cullen performance.

Cameron Menzies prospects of reaching the World Matchplay and World Cup of Darts have taken a huge blow in a damaging 6-4 defeat against Karel Sedlacek. Menzies' doubling was a bit wobbly at the start but he eventually managed to nail double two before much more convincingly breaking the throw. In another world, ‘Cammy’ could have been 4-0 up if he was able to take his chances but Sedlacek rode his luck and took his opportunities to get back level.

After pinning double five to escape another scare, Menzies had only nailed three of his 16 attempts at double. Five more darts on the outer ring were wasted as Sedlack kept pace with his opponent. The Scot looked to break with a 116 checkout but was pictured as a frustrated darter as ‘Evil Charlie’ found the bull for a 127 checkout.

He almost followed that with a 167 outshot but no pressure from Menzies allowed the Czech to move within one of the match. He got the job done and continues his tournament in Munich. On the other side, 19 missed doubles on the outer ring succumbed Menzies to a painful loss.

One of the ties of the afternoon on paper saw European Darts Trophy champion Wessel Nijman face off against the former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding. Nijman was unable to continue his fine form on the oche, losing 6-4 in a poor showing.

Gilding would break to sail into a 2-0 lead before, with his last dart, finding the double four target expertly. By this stage, Gilding had 11 darts at the outer ring compared the one of Nijman at the bull. The Dutchman did get a first leg on the board but the scoring was just not there for him, unlike in the week when he won a second Pro Tour title of 2026.

Fortunately, ‘Goldfinger’s’ level was also not that high. Nijman went back-to-back on double 18 after Gilding missed darts to move 5-2 in front to break back and managed to get level at 4-4. A hold of throw moved Gilding within one of the match before a phenomenal 140 checkout with two double 20’s advanced Gilding in style, taking down a huge title contender in the process.

There was a differing result for fellow Dutchman Niels Zonneveld, whose fine form on the Euro Tour continues with a 6-3 victory against debutant Adam Lipscombe. The pair traded breaks in the early stages of the match before Zonneveld again went ahead. He could not accelerate away using his prior form on the oche as Lipscombe levelled up instantly before securing the first hold of the match.

Zonneveld had defeated the likes of Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen in recent weeks. He managed to get back level before Lipscombe almost produced a moment of brilliance, dragging his dart just into the double nine when aiming for the target above it for a 141 outshot. Zonneveld keeps his cool and gets a definitive break. The Dutchman showed the maturity of a top player to see it out in style, going six into the perfect leg before shrugging off pressure from his opponent to blast into the next round.

Ritchie Edhouse overcame a slow start to fend off Kevin Troppmann 6-3 in a high quality match of darts. The first leg was culminated in 22-darts by Edhouse. He improved in the premature stages of this match to find a 14-darter to continue the holds as Troppmann kept on tabs with a 12-darter.

From the second leg onwards, there was not a leg finished lower than 15 darts. Edhouse would get the all-important break on double 16, successfully splitting 38 to leave 32 and move further clear. He would have no issue in seeing it out on throw for his first win on the Euro Tour since the 2025 Swiss Darts Trophy.

Krzysztof Ratajski was sloppy at times but still had the quality to prevail 6-3 over Thomas Lovely. It started well for the Englishman, holding in 13-darts before Ratajski went one better with a 12-darter. The key leg would come next as he broke the throw, coming to be pivotal with it being the only leg won against the throw in the entire match.

Lovely had chances but was also missing his chances, something that could not be afforded against a player with the calibre and reputation as Ratajski. The Pole was also missing on the outer ring but was able to hit his target at the right times. He almost won it with a 156 but completed the job on double four.

William O’Connor finished his opening match in style against Sebastian Bialecki, winning 6-2 in a very complete performance. Both players missed golden opportunities to break the throw in the early stages. O’Connor would make up for it as he moved ahead thanks to a firm dart into the double eight segment to go 3-1 ahead. He would miss a dart at the target below it to edge further ahead as Bialecki broke back instantly.

The Irishman was not having any of it, confirming a third consecutive break. The Pole failed to keep this trend continuing with two missed doubles at double eight. O’Connor capitalised with a 116 checkout before flexing his muscles with a show-stopping 170 checkout, completing the match in scintillating fashion.

Despite Finn Behrens claiming his first Euro Tour leg, he was left no chance against a clinical Ryan Joyce who won 6-1. Following from the O’Connor 170, Joyce backed that up with a 164 outshot to commence proceedings in ominous fashion. Behrens first chance to get a leg on the Euro Tour was wasted with missed double attempts as Joyce took out 85 in two on double 14.

Behrens was at risk of losing his second match on the Euro Tour 6-0 after that occurred last year at this stage against Kim Huybrechts. This fate would not be repeated as he survived missed attempts at tops from Joyce to break new ground at the 11th time of asking. More chances missed allowed ‘Relentless’ to move one away thanks to a picture-perfect shot at the bull. He sailed through shortly after in a convincing showing.