Cameron Menzies put on a dazzling display at the Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Grand Prix, ousting Raymond van Barneveld with a 6-3 victory. On the first day of the event, Menzies produced an outstanding performance, finishing with a 104.5 average and securing his fifth consecutive win over the Dutch legend. Menzies will face former European Champion Ross Smith in the next round. The 36-year-old expressed his excitement, saying, "I felt tremendous out there.
I wish I could play like that all the time." Van Barneveld was not the only former World Champion to exit the competition, as Rob Cross and Peter Wright lost to Mickey Mansell and Jeffrey de Zwaan, respectively. Mansell defeated Cross 6-2 with a 100.32 average, while de Zwaan edged out Wright in a closely contested match. 2019 champion Ian White also crashed out, losing 6-2 to European Darts Trophy champion Wessel Nijman.
However, Kim Huybrechts avoided a similar fate, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode to begin his bid for a second European Darts Grand Prix title. German star Niko Springer will face defending champion Gary Anderson on Saturday, after opening his campaign with a 6-1 win over newcomer Robin Masino.
Michael Unterbuchner impressed on home soil, landing three ton-plus checkouts during his deciding-leg success against William O'Connor. Unterbuchner's win sets up a clash against two-time champion Michael van Gerwen, while Joe Cullen will play top seed Gian van Veen following a 6-1 win over Maik Kuivenhoven.
Dave Chisnall and Gerwyn Price will lock horns in another blockbuster tie, after Chisnall closed out a grueling 6-4 victory against Czechia's Petr Krivka. Keane Barry sealed 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. Valters Melderis edged past Czechia's number one Karel Sedlacek to become the latest Latvian to triumph on the big stage. Sweden's Oskar Lukasiak 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.