Max Hopp and Martin Schindler delighted the Munich crowd on day one of the Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix as the pair progressed with victories over Alan Soutar and James Wilson respectively.
Hopp, a former winner on the European Tour, scored well throughout the match but struggled on converting his chances, pinning just 22% of his shots at doubles.
Soutar was unable to punish his opponent though, as Hopp advanced in a 6-4 win and will face Dimitri Van den Bergh on Saturday.
German number two Martin Schindler will also return for the second round after defeating Jermaine Wattimena 6-3.
Schindler averaged 93.55 and hit three maximums as he set up a round two tie with Brendan Dolan.
Day one also saw Raymond van Barneveld return to Euro Tour action with the five-time World Champion defeating James Wilson 6-0.
It was the first time Van Barneveld had appeared on the European Tour since 2019 and his reward for the victory is a clash with Damon Heta on Saturday.
Dave Chisnall and Ryan Meikle both averaged 98 in the last game of the evening session with Chisnall progressing with a 6-4 success.
The Englishman lead 5-1 and looked set to progress before a fightback saw Meikle close the gap to just one leg.
An eleven-dart leg saw Chisnall seal the win in leg ten and he will face Jonny Clayton in round two.
Jeffrey de Zwaan needed an average of 95 and a deciding 11th leg as he overcame his Dutch counterpart Vincent van der Voort 6-5.
Four 180s and a 104 checkout were the highlights of De Zwaan’s victory and the former World Matchplay quarter-finalist will face Luke Humphries in round two.
Scott Waites continued his impressive record of winning every first-round match he has competed in on the European Tour, beating Dragutin Horvat 6-1 and will face World Champion Peter Wright in round two.
Danny Baggish became the first American to play on the European Tour and did it in style as he overcame Thomas Junghans 6-2.
Baggish takes on Ryan Searle in round two on Saturday, courtesy of his win.
6-3 wins for Boris Krcmar and Martin Lukeman in the afternoon session set up second-round encounters against Dirk van Duijvenbode and German number one Gabriel Clemens respectively.
Chris Dobey defeated John O’Shea 6-2 and will now play Michael van Gerwen who is aiming to win a record 34th European Tour title, whilst a 6-3 win over Jim Williams sees Wesley Plaiser take on Joe Cullen in round two.
Berry van Peer impressed on day one in Munich with the Dutchman averaging almost 96 in his first round victory over Daniel Larsson, where Michael Smith awaits the 25-year-old in round two.
Keegan Brown will also return on Saturday to take on Callan Rydz thanks to a 6-2 victory over Adam Hunt.
The opening match of the evening session of the Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix saw Madars Razma overcome Kim Hubrechts in a fiercely contested game.
With the score at 5-4, Razma took out 150 to seal the victory and progress to the second round where he will face Jose de Sousa.
Keane Barry will face Gerwyn Price in round two after beating Lukas Wenig 6-4.
Karel Sedlacek received a first-round bye after Krzysztof Ratajski was forced to withdraw and will take on Rob Cross in the second round.
The Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix will continue on Saturday as the seeded players enter the tournament and can be watched on PDCTV with the £140,000 event moving towards the latter stages.
2022 Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix
Saturday April 16
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Boris Krcmar 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Berry van Peer 6-4 Daniel Larsson
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Adam Gawlas
Wesley Plaisier 6-3 Jim Williams
Keegan Brown 6-2 Adam Hunt
Scott Waites 6-1 Dragutin Horvat
Chris Dobey 6-2 John O’Shea
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Madars Razma 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Max Hopp 6-4 Alan Soutar
Danny Baggish 6-2 Thomas Junghans
Keane Barry 6-4 Lukas Wenig
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Martin Schindler 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 James Wilson
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Bye – Karel Sedlacek
Sunday April 17
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Callan Rydz v Keegan Brown
Rob Cross v Karel Sedlacek
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Boris Krcmar
Jose de Sousa v Madars Razma
Joe Cullen v Wesley Plaisier
Luke Humphries v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton v Dave Chisnall
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Max Hopp
Damon Heta v Raymond van Barneveld
Gabriel Clemens v Martin Lukeman
Gerwyn Price v Keane Barry
Peter Wright v Scott Waites
Michael van Gerwen v Chris Dobey
Ryan Searle v Danny Baggish
Michael Smith v Berry van Peer
—–ENDS—–
Words & Images: PDC/PDC Europe
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