The year's fifth European Tour event kicked off with an action-packed day at the Glaspalast, as a remarkable Menzies powered to a 6-3 win against a spirited Raymond van Barneveld. Menzies produced a brilliant late flurry to confirm his progress, reeling off legs of 11, 13 and 13 darts to triumph with a 104.5 average and register a fifth straight victory over the Dutch legend. "I felt tremendous out there.
I wish I could play like that all the time," quipped Menzies, who faces former European Champion Ross Smith in round two. Van Barneveld wasn't the only former World Champion to bow out in Sindelfingen, as Rob Cross and Peter Wright succumbed to Mickey Mansell and Jeffrey de Zwaan respectively. Cross - a European Darts Grand Prix champion in 2023 - was beaten 6-2 by a clinical Mansell, who averaged 100.32 to set up a showdown against seventh seed Stephen Bunting. De Zwaan accounted for 2017 winner Wright in a hard-fought encounter, and the Dutchman's reward is a meeting with newly-crowned German Darts Grand Prix champion Nathan Aspinall.
2019 champion Ian White also crashed out the Glaspalast, losing 6-2 to European Darts Trophy champion Wessel Nijman, who is eyeing a fifth PDC ranking title of 2026 this weekend. However, a resurgent Kim Huybrechts avoided the same fate as Cross, Wright and White, claiming the scalp of Dirk van Duijvenbode to begin his bid for a second European Darts Grand Prix crown. German star Niko Springer will go head-to-head with defending champion Gary Anderson in one of Saturday's stand-out fixtures, after opening his campaign with a 6-1 thumping of newcomer Robin Masino. Michael Unterbuchner also starred on home soil, landing a hat-trick of ton-plus checkouts during his deciding-leg success against William O'Connor.
Unterbuchner's second win on the European Tour stage sets up a clash against two-time champion Michael van Gerwen, while Joe Cullen will play top seed Gian van Veen following a routine 6-1 win over Maik Kuivenhoven. Dave Chisnall and Gerwyn Price will lock horns in another blockbuster tie, after the eight-time European Tour winner closed out a gruelling 6-4 victory against Czechia's Petr Krivka. Keane Barry converted clinical 124 and 130 checkouts to seal a 6-3 success against an in-form Niels Zonneveld, which sets up an enticing clash against Premier League star Josh Rock in round two.
Kevin Doets - a semi-finalist in Munich earlier this month - will face Jermaine Wattimena in an all-Dutch affair after fending off a valiant fightback from compatriot Jurjen van der Velde. Damon Heta navigated his way through a tough opening assignment against Madars Razma, and German number one Martin Schindler now awaits the Australian on Saturday evening. Nevertheless, there was joy for Razma's World Cup partner Valters Melderis, who edged past Czechia's number one Karel Sedlacek to become the latest Latvian to triumph on the big stage.
Sweden's Oskar Lukasiak also advanced in dramatic fashion, relinquishing a 5-1 lead against Daryl Gurney before eventually sealing the win with his tenth match dart. Elsewhere, last year's runner-up Andrew Gilding and Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski completed the round two line-up, after defeating Host Nation duo Paul Krohne and Michael Hurtz respectively. Friday April 17 Round One Afternoon Session saw several matches take place. Saturday April 18 Round Two will feature several matches, including Mike De Decker v Krzysztof Ratajski and Gary Anderson v Niko Springer.