Cameron Menzies stole the show on the opening day of the Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Grand Prix, while three former titleholders suffered early exits in Sindelfingen. Menzies produced a dazzling display to defeat Raymond van Barneveld 6-3, capping off his win with a string of impressive legs and a 104.5 average. The victory marked Menzies' fifth consecutive win over the Dutch legend. "I felt incredible out there.
I wish I could play like that every time," Menzies said, looking ahead to his round two matchup against former European Champion Ross Smith. Van Barneveld was not the only former World Champion to fall, as Rob Cross and Peter Wright lost to Mickey Mansell and Jeffrey de Zwaan, respectively. Cross, the 2023 European Darts Grand Prix champion, 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, earning a meeting with newly-crowned German Darts Grand Prix champion Nathan Aspinall. 2019 champion Ian White also crashed out, losing 6-2 to European Darts Trophy champion Wessel Nijman. However, a resurgent Kim Huybrechts avoided the same fate, claiming the scalp of Dirk van Duijvenbode to begin his bid for a second European Darts Grand Prix crown.
German star Niko Springer will face 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 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, setting up an enticing clash against Premier League star Josh Rock in round two. Kevin Doets 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.