Michael van Gerwen wins first match back since July as first round concludes at Players Championship 18

Michael van Gerwen has marked his return to action with a victory during his opener at Players Championship 18. It was his first official match since he lost the World Matchplay final against Luke Humphries in July.

A day later, Van Gerwen underwent dental surgery for the second consecutive year, forcing him to miss three Players Championship tournaments and two World Series tournaments. On his comeback against Evans, Van Gerwen reached an average of 101.28. In particular, ‘Mighty Mike's final hit was fine with an 11-darter and a 12-darter in the last two legs.

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Others through include Dave Chisnall who thrashed Connor Scutt 6-1, Chris Dobey averaging 104 in a high quality affair with Ricky Evans. Damon Heta is one of the only players to return after playing in Australia and New Zealand and he moved through 6-5.

Ross Smith is second seed and sealed a 6-4 win over Robert Grundy. Ryan Searle, Jonny Clayton and Stephen Bunting are also among the early winners.

Results Players Championship 18

Last 128

Martin Lukeman 6 | 3 Alan Soutar

Matt Campbell 6 | 5 Jurjen van der Velde

Dave Chisnall 6 | 1 Connor Scutt

Reece Colley 6 | 4 Wessel Nijman

Peter Wright 6 | 3 Graham Usher

Jim Williams 6 | 4 Tim Wolters

Raymond van Barneveld 6 | 3 Jamie Atkins

Owen Roelofs 6 | 3 Lee Cocks

James Wade 6 | 3 Franz Roetzsch

William O'Connor 6 | 0 William Borland

Martin Schindler 6 | 5 Steve Lennon

Mensur Suljovic 6 | 3 Simon Whitlock

Cameron Menzies 6 | 4 Jeffrey De Zwaan

Andy Boulton 6 | 4 Graham Hall

Chris Dobey 6 | 3 Ricky Evans

Madars Razma 6 | 3 Jeffrey Sparidaans

Gabriel Clemens 6 | 4 Joshua Richardson

Danny van Trijp 6 | 5 Jose De Sousa

Danny Noppert 6 | 2 Arron Monk

Florian Hempel 6 | 3 Stefan Bellmont

Ritchie Edhouse 6 | 5 Jeffrey De Graaf

Daniel Klose 6 | 3 Darren Beveridge

Maik Kuivenhoven 6 | 5 Daryl Gurney

Chris Landman 6 | 4 Michele Turetta

Rene Eidams 6 | 5 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Niels Zonneveld 6 | 0 Mervyn King

Damon Heta 6 | 5 Rowby-John Rodriguez

Keegan Brown 6 | 3 James Hurrell

Mickey Mansell 6 | 4 Brendan Dolan

Justin Hood 6 | 4 John Henderson

Christian Perez 6 | 2 Ricardo Pietreczko

Callum Goffin 6 | 1 Lukas Wenig

Richard Veenstra 6 | 2 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Karel Sedlacek 6 | 3 Dylan Slevin

Ross Smith 6 | 4 Robert Grundy

Dom Taylor 6 | 4 Adam Warner

Krzysztof Ratajski 6 | 3 Thibault Tricole

Mario Vandenbogaerde 6 | 0 Robbie Knops

Ryan Joyce 6 | 4 Richie Burnett

Ryan Meikle 6 | 5 Pascal Rupprecht

Andrew Gilding 6 | 0 Brett Claydon

Andy Baetens 6 | 3 Vincent van der Voort

Ryan Searle 6 | 2 Berry van Peer

Kai Gotthardt 6 | 5 Keane Barry

Luke Woodhouse 6 | 2 Jitse Van der Wal

Danny Lauby 6 | 4 Owen Bates

Wesley Plaisier 6 | 5 Gian van Veen

George Killington 6 | 1 Ian White

Jermaine Wattimena 6 | 3 Cam Crabtree

Christian Kist 6 | 5 Patrick Geeraets

Robert Owen 6 | 1 Josh Rock

Steve Beaton 6 | 2 Adam Gawlas

Mike De Decker 6 | 3 Nick Kenny

Stephen Burton 6 | 3 Nathan Rafferty

Jonny Clayton 6 | 4 Jelle Klaasen

Jamie Hughes 6 | 5 Benjamin Reus

Kevin Doets 6 | 3 Martijn Dragt

Scott Williams 6 | 2 Jules van Dongen

Stephen Bunting 6 | 3 Rhys Griffin

Adam Hunt 6 | 3 Josh Payne

Joe Cullen 6 | 4 Boris Krcmar

Matthew Dennant 6 | 1 Danny Jansen

Michael van Gerwen 6 | 2 Lee Evans

Kim Huybrechts 6 | 3 Geert Nentjes

Last 64

Martin Lukeman - | - Matt Campbell

Dave Chisnall - | - Reece Colley

Peter Wright - | - Jim Williams

Raymond van Barneveld - | - Owen Roelofs

James Wade - | - William O'Connor

Martin Schindler - | - Mensur Suljovic

Cameron Menzies - | - Andy Boulton

Chris Dobey - | - Madars Razma

Gabriel Clemens - | - Danny van Trijp

Danny Noppert - | - Florian Hempel

Ritchie Edhouse - | - Daniel Klose

Maik Kuivenhoven - | - Chris Landman

Niels Zonneveld - | - Rene Eidams

Damon Heta - | - Keegan Brown

Mickey Mansell - | - Justin Hood

Christian Perez - | - Callum Goffin

Richard Veenstra - | - Karel Sedlacek

Ross Smith - | - Dom Taylor

Krzysztof Ratajski - | - Mario Vandenbogaerde

Ryan Joyce - | - Ryan Meikle

Andrew Gilding - | - Andy Baetens

Ryan Searle - | - Kai Gotthardt

Luke Woodhouse - | - Danny Lauby

Wesley Plaisier - | - George Killington

Jermaine Wattimena - | - Christian Kist

Robert Owen - | - Steve Beaton

Mike De Decker - | - Stephen Burton

Jonny Clayton - | - Jamie Hughes

Kevin Doets - | - Scott Williams

Stephen Bunting - | - Adam Hunt

Joe Cullen - | - Matthew Dennant

Michael van Gerwen - | - Kim Huybrechts