Luke Littler produced a magnificent performance to reach the third round of the Elten Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix on Sunday, as Michael van Gerwen also moved through to Finals Day.
Day Two of the year’s fourth European Tour event saw 16 second round matches take place across two sessions, with World Champion Littler dominating on his debut in Munich.
The 18-year-old sensation smashed Cam Crabtree 6-1, recording an average of above 107 and limiting his opponent to just three darts at double.
“Everything went well there, I’m very happy,” said top seed Littler, having won all his legs in 15 darts or fewer.
“It’s my first time in Munich and hopefully I can pick up another trophy by tomorrow.
“If I play like this again tomorrow, I will be happy.”
Littler will face Joe Cullen tomorrow afternoon, after the Yorkshireman dispatched Mickey Mansell 6-2 earlier in the day.
Elsewhere, Van Gerwen survived three missed match darts to edge past Kim Huybrechts 6-5, even though the Dutchman posted an average in excess of 102.
Van Gerwen, who almost squandered a 3-1 lead, broke back from 5-4 down thanks to missed doubles from Huybrechts, and closed out the game with a 13-darter.
“It was definitely a rollercoaster,” reflected Van Gerwen post-match.
“I’m not going through the easiest patch in my life, so I'm battling for every win I can.
“When things are hard and things are not going your way, it’s a tough game, but I'm glad I battled through; it was a really important win for myself.”
There was also home delight for Martin Schindler, who produced an excellent display on the outer-ring to seal his second consecutive 6-1 win over Jonny Clayton on the European Tour.
Ryan Joyce produced the only whitewash win of the day, stomping over ninth seed Damon Heta with a 101 average in his third straight win over the Australian number one.
Meanwhile, Josh Rock also averaged over a ton in his eighth straight victory over Scott Williams, and Gian van Veen defeated Andrew Gilding to avenge his Players Championship 13 loss on Monday.
Gerywn Price crashed Raymond van Barneveld’s 58th birthday party, defeating the Dutch legend 6-3, whilst Ross Smith came back from 3-0 down to defeat Jermaine Wattimena 6-4.
The Munich crowd was silenced when Rob Cross overcame Ricardo Pietreczko 6-4, while former German Darts Grand Prix champion Michael Smith was also dumped out 6-4 by Krzysztof Ratajski.
Peter Wright conjured two ton-plus finishes in his 6-3 victory over Mike De Decker, as Madars Razma and Ryan Searle ran out 6-2 winners over Danny Noppert and Cameron Menzies respectively.
Niels Zonneveld dismantled James Wade 6-2 to make it to his third ever Finals Day on the European Tour, whilst Dave Chisnall produced a 147 checkout to cap off a 6-3 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The third round will take place on Monday afternoon, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a stacked evening session.
Live coverage from the German Darts Grand Prix will be streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through the DAZN Darts channel on Pluto TV.
Coverage will also be broadcast on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' worldwide.
For more in depth coverage of everything darts, together with the latest issues of their legendary publications, head on over to dartsworld.com
Elten Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix
Sunday April 20
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Madars Razma 6-2 Danny Noppert
Ryan Joyce 6-0 Damon Heta
Gian van Veen 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Ryan Searle 6-2 Cameron Menzies
Josh Rock 6-2 Scott Williams
Rob Cross 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Michael Smith
Joe Cullen 6-2 Mickey Mansell
Evening Session
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 James Wade
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Luke Littler 6-1 Cam Crabtree
Peter Wright 6-3 Mike De Decker
Martin Schindler 6-1 Jonny Clayton
Ross Smith 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena