Luke Littler marked his European Tour debut with a thrilling deciding-leg victory on the opening day of the Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open, as Stephen Bunting dumped out home hero Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Littler was one of three Premier League stars in action on a bumper opening day in Wieze, and the teenage superstar produced a stunning display of scoring to edge out former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa.
The 17-year-old crashed in eight 180s in a high-octane affair, although he was forced to survive two match darts against the Portuguese star, who pinned his first five attempts at double to establish a 5-4 lead.
However, De Sousa paid the price for spurning two match darts in the penultimate leg, as Littler registered back-to-back maximums in a dramatic finale to advance with a 101 average.
“I’ve always said that I love playing in front of a massive crowd,” claimed Littler, who will now play Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski for a place in the last 16 on Saturday evening.
“I’m glad to get through. I know that my scoring is there, so I will have a good rest tonight and come here tomorrow and practise those doubles.”
Day One of the year’s opening European Tour event saw 16 first round matches take place across two sessions at the Oktoberhallen, with Premier League duo Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall enduring contrasting fortunes.
Two-time World Champion Wright recorded a hard-fought 6-2 victory against Geert De Vos, punishing a sluggish start from the Belgian to create a blockbuster showdown against reigning champion Michael van Gerwen.
Aspinall, meanwhile, paid the price for an erratic display in his opener against Richard Veenstra, squandering 13 darts at double as the enigmatic Dutchman won four of the last five legs to complete a 6-3 triumph.
James Wade will go head-to-head with world number one Luke Humphries in one of Saturday’s stand-out ties, after rallying from 4-2 down to defeat Raymond van Barneveld in a clash between two of the sport’s most successful stars.
Masters champion Stephen Bunting also won through a last-leg shoot-out against Belgian number one Van den Bergh, averaging 99 to deny the newly crowned UK Open champion on his return to home soil.
Mike De Decker preserved home hopes however, overturning a 4-2 deficit against Chris Landman in Friday evening’s opener to seal his spot in round two, where 2023 World Champion Michael Smith awaits.
Elsewhere, Joe Cullen kicked off his European Tour campaign with a comprehensive 6-1 success against Martin Schindler, averaging 103 to advance to a second round showdown against fifth seed Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Schindler’s World Cup partner Gabriel Clemens will renew his rivalry with Gerwyn Price on Saturday evening, after averaging 101 to open his challenge with a whitewash win over newcomer Jeroen Caron.
Nevertheless, Andreas Harrysson produced the performance of the day in Wieze, converting four ton-plus checkouts to dispatch a shell-shocked Gian van Veen with a 107 average.
The unassuming Swede was merciless on the outer ring, landing 106, 117, 124 and 132 finishes to set up a fascinating second round clash against two-time World Champion Gary Anderson.
Earlier in the day, Jermaine Wattimena stormed through to round two with a whitewash win over Daryl Gurney, denying the Northern Irishman a solitary dart at double in the process.
Chris Dobey will play tenth seed Danny Noppert for a place in Sunday’s third round, averaging 95 and landing three 180s to overcome quick-fire Croatian qualifier Romeo Grbavac.
Ryan Joyce reeled off three straight legs to complete a 6-3 win against former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, while Luke Woodhouse put in a clinical display to defeat debutant James Hurrell by the same scoreline.
Berry van Peer opened Friday’s double session with victory against Daniel Klose, as Brendan Dolan and Lukas Wenig eased past Host Nation Qualifiers Steven Strobbe and Born Van Put respectively.
The 2024 Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open continues on Saturday, as the second round takes place across two sessions at the Oktoberhallen.
World Champion Humphries will take centre stage, with top seed Dave Chisnall, reigning champion Van Gerwen and debutant Littler also amongst the high-profile names in action.
The tournament is being broadcast live on VTM2, Viaplay, DAZN and PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ websites worldwide.
2024 Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open
Friday March 8
First Round
Afternoon Session
Berry van Peer 6-3 Daniel Klose
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Lukas Wenig 6-3 Born Van Put
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 James Hurrell
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Steven Strobbe
Chris Dobey 6-3 Romeo Grbavac
Andreas Harrysson 6-1 Gian van Veen
Evening Session
Mike De Decker 6-5 Chris Landman
Joe Cullen 6-1 Martin Schindler
Gabriel Clemens 6-0 Jeroen Caron
Luke Littler 6-5 Jose de Sousa
Peter Wright 6-2 Geert De Vos
James Wade 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Saturday March 9
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Ricardo Pietreczko v Luke Woodhouse
Ross Smith v Jermaine Wattimena
Jonny Clayton v Berry van Peer
Damon Heta v Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle v Richard Veenstra
Danny Noppert v Chris Dobey
Gary Anderson v Andreas Harrysson
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Joe Cullen
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Dave Chisnall v Ryan Joyce
Michael Smith v Mike De Decker
Gerwyn Price v Gabriel Clemens
Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
Krzysztof Ratajski v Luke Littler
Luke Humphries v James Wade
Josh Rock v Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross v Lukas Wenig
Photos credit Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe
