Van Dongen and Pilgrim impress at German Darts Championship as opening session in Hildesheim concludes

Jules van Dongen followed up his strong form of recent weeks by qualifying for the second round at the German Darts Championship.

Since the summer, 'The Dutch Dragon' has been enjoying a strong period on the PDC circuit, making qualification for the World Darts Championship suddenly very real. With a 6-2 victory over Patrik Kovacs, Van Dongen moved another step closer to making his debut at Alexandra Palace.

Including an 80 finish, 13-darter and an 11-darter, Van Dongen took a 4-1 lead. Kovacs hit tops for 2-4, but Van Dongen then pushed the margin to 5-2 with a 13-darter. An 18-darter then earned a spot in the second round, where Danny Noppert awaits.

Darryl Pilgrim also reached the last 32 of the Euro Tour tournament in Hildesheim. He had a great day and defeated Jeff Smith 6-1 thanks to an average of 102.88. Often a player that has hit massive averages, but gone onto loss and as a result has been an anomaly in the average rankings won this time around.