Van Gerwen and Van Veen Suffer Shock Exits at German Darts Grand Prix

The German Darts Grand Prix saw a major upset as defending champion Michael van Gerwen and fellow competitor Gian van Veen were eliminated from the competition on Sunday. Van Gerwen's title defence came to an abrupt end with a 6-1 loss to local favourite Niko Springer, who will now face Michael Smith in the last 16. William O'Connor defeated Van Veen 6-2, while Ryan Searle and Damon Heta also suffered defeats at the hands of Krzysztof Ratajski and Karel Sedlacek, respectively. Jonny Clayton has taken the lead in the title race, overcoming Marcel Hausotter 6-5 to set up a match against Kim Huybrechts. The event features a 48-player field and offers a top prize of £35,000, concluding on Easter Monday.