Kevin Doets delivered an astonishing display on the opening day of action at the Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Trophy, recording a career-high average of 117.12 to advance to round two in Goettingen.
Day One of the second European Tour event of 2026 got underway on Friday at the Lokhalle, with Doets stealing the show following a mesmerising whitewash win over Finnish debutant Jonas Masalin.
The 27-year-old produced the joint-fifth highest average of all time on the European Tour stage and the greatest average ever seen at the European Darts Trophy, taking out three of his six legs in just four visits to the oche to conjure a performance for the ages.
“That was good, right?” quipped Doets, who will face Cam Crabtree in round two on Saturday evening.
“I don’t know what happened, I just felt very comfortable!
“I started to feel comfortable when Jonas missed those darts for 1-1, but I don’t expect Cam to miss those chances tomorrow.
“I’m in a really good place right now, I’m very confident, and I think I’m going to win tomorrow as well.”
Dave Chisnall completed a remarkable comeback against Jeffrey de Zwaan, winning six legs straight from 5-0 down to come off the canvas and wrap up an extraordinary victory.
Chisnall – an eight-time European Tour winner – was averaging under 75 whilst staring down the barrel of a whitewash defeat, but began to tick off legs, surviving three match darts throughout his riposte to edge through.
“It was a weird game. I’d rather start the match in pieces than end it,” joked Chisnall, who faces former European Champion Ross Smith on Saturday.
“That last leg was a bit weird, we both didn’t score well. But I took the finish, and I’m happy!
“I’ve got to play a lot better tomorrow than I did tonight. Ross Smith is a great darts player.
“He’s beaten me in seven of the last seven games, but Michael van Gerwen had beaten me 26 out of 26 games and I did get one win eventually!”
Joe Cullen set up a tantalising round two tie against Gerwyn Price after downing European Tour debutant Wojciech Brulinski 6-3, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to win six of the last seven legs.
Niko Springer toppled fellow German Kai Gotthardt in a thrilling last-leg decider, with the Hungarian Darts Trophy champion taking out checkouts of 142 and 124 to set up the deciding leg before closing the match with a clutch 80 kill.
Springer will face Bunting in round two, whilst Krzysztof Ratajski also earned a tie with a Premier League star in the form of Gian van Veen after accounting for talented Irishman Shane McGuirk.
Niels Zonneveld will face three-time European Darts Trophy champion Michael van Gerwen thanks to a 6-1 thumping of a profligate Keane Barry, whilst Dirk van Duijvenbode’s demolition of Mario Vandenbogaerde sets up a round two tie with two-time European Champion Rob Cross.
Wessel Nijman overturned a 3-0 deficit to trump Spanish star Cristo Reyes in a last-leg decider despite missing 20 darts at double across the contest, and the Dutchman will take on former World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker on Saturday.
Paul Krohne delivered the upset of the day in dumping out Cameron Menzies 6-4, and will face World Cup champion Josh Rock as a reward for bagging his first career European Tour win.
Lukas Wenig added to the German crowd’s delight by seeing off last year’s runner-up Ryan Joyce and will face Jermaine Wattimena on Saturday, although Luke Woodhouse and Ricky Evans whitewashed Host Nation Qualifiers Dragutin Horvat and Florian Preis respectively.
Richard Veenstra defeated home favourite Florian Hempel 6-3 and will now face German number one Martin Schindler in round two, while Lithuanian number one Darius Labanauskas put out former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding 6-3.
Three-time European Tour winner Mensur Suljovic got the better of William O’Connor 6-2 with a solid performance and will play late call-up Karel Sedlacek in round two, as Daryl Gurney will lock horns with Ryan Searle after defeating Sebastian Bialecki.
Round Two will take place across the afternoon and evening sessions on Saturday, as Van Gerwen pursues his 39th European Tour title.
Live coverage of the European Darts Trophy will be streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through the DAZN Darts channel on Pluto TV.
Additionally, coverage will be shown on CANAL+ SPORT 5 and via the CANAL+ streaming service in Poland, on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ worldwide.
2026 Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Trophy
Friday March 13
Round One
Afternoon Session
Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-0 Jonas Masalin
Ricky Evans 6-0 Florian Preis
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Keane Barry
Paul Krohne 6-4 Cameron Menzies
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Florian Hempel
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Shane McGuirk
Lukas Wenig 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Kevin Doets 6-0 Jonas Masalin
Ricky Evans 6-0 Florian Preis
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Keane Barry
Paul Krohne 6-4 Cameron Menzies
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Florian Hempel
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Shane McGuirk
Lukas Wenig 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Evening Session
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Dragutin Horvat
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Joe Cullen 6-3 Wojciech Brulinski
Niko Springer 6-5 Kai Gotthardt
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 William O’Connor
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Dragutin Horvat
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Joe Cullen 6-3 Wojciech Brulinski
Niko Springer 6-5 Kai Gotthardt
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 William O’Connor
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Saturday March 14
Round Two
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Jermaine Wattimena v Lukas Wenig
Damon Heta v Darius Labanauskas
Danny Noppert v Ricky Evans
Ross Smith v Dave Chisnall
Rob Cross v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Mike De Decker v Wessel Nijman
Chris Dobey v Luke Woodhouse
Ryan Searle v Daryl Gurney
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Josh Rock v Paul Krohne
Gerwyn Price v Joe Cullen
Martin Schindler v Richard Veenstra
Michael van Gerwen v Niels Zonneveld
Karel Sedlacek v Mensur Suljovic
Gian van Veen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting v Niko Springer
Cam Crabtree v Kevin Doets
Josh Rock v Paul Krohne
Gerwyn Price v Joe Cullen
Martin Schindler v Richard Veenstra
Michael van Gerwen v Niels Zonneveld
Karel Sedlacek v Mensur Suljovic
Gian van Veen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting v Niko Springer
Cam Crabtree v Kevin Doets
Photos credit PDC Europe