Andrew Gilding stunned Luke Littler on a dramatic night of first round action at the Machineseeker European Championship, as reigning champion Peter Wright was whitewashed on his return to Dortmund.
Day Two of the £600,000 event saw the remaining eight first round ties take place at the Westfalenhalle, with Littler, Wright and two-time champion Rob Cross amongst the high-profile casualties.
Littler enjoyed a record-breaking campaign at last weekend’s Czech Darts Open, although his highly-anticipated European Championship hopes were ended with a 6-4 loss to an impressive Gilding.
The former UK Open champion raced into a 3-0 lead, and although Littler responded with a three-leg burst to level, Gilding kept his cool to progress with a 98.92 average.
“It’s the last thing I expected really, especially with the way Luke has played lately,” conceded the Suffolk veteran.
“It’s the third time I’ve played Luke, and tonight it was a case of third time lucky!
“This is a huge win for me. I was thinking about my flight home tomorrow to be honest, but maybe that helped me to relax!”
Gilding will now play Ricardo Pietreczko for a place in the last eight, after the German ace preserved home hopes with a thrilling deciding-leg victory against Damon Heta.
Pietreczko recovered from 5-3 down to edge out the Australian number one, conjuring up a nerveless 102 checkout in the decider to complete the comeback.
“This is a really important win for me,” reflected Pietreczko, who averaged 100.5 and pinned 40% of his attempts at double.
“Damon Heta is a great sportsman and a great player, but I am really happy to win this game. I seem to like making comebacks!
“Martin [Schindler] and Gabriel [Clemens] are both great players, but after they both lost, it’s all eyes on me now.”
Elsewhere, Wright became the sixth consecutive reigning champion to lose in the opening round of the European Championship, succumbing to a resurgent Wattimena in straight legs.
The two-time World Champion endured an evening to forget at the Westfalenhalle, averaging just 74 as Wattimena raced through to a showdown against 2018 winner James Wade.
Wade overcame Cross 6-3 in a battle of former European Champions, averaging 100.71 and landing four 180s to send another two-time winner packing.
Cross kept himself in contention with clinical 117 and 140 checkouts, but Wade’s superior scoring power proved decisive as the left-hander continued his impressive record in Dortmund.
“It was a steady performance,” reflected Wade, the runner-up to Wright in 2023. “I probably let Rob in on a few occasions, but he took out some tremendous finishes.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, who I play or what tournament it is – the only thing that matters is what James turns up, and if I’m focused, I’m pretty dangerous.”
Despite a host of high-profile exits, world number one Luke Humphries avoided a similar fate, powering to a superb 6-2 success against Nathan Aspinall.
Humphries averaged 106.49 and crashed in seven 180s to open his bid for a maiden European Championship crown, producing 122 and 152 finishes along the way.
“It was a very good night for me,” insisted Humphries, a two-time winner on the European Tour in 2024.
“I knew I had a really tough game against Nathan. He is an incredible player and I had to play as well as I did to win.
“I class Nathan as one of the toughest players to beat. He is so determined, but I felt relaxed tonight and put on a good show there.”
Humphries will now play Jonny Clayton in Saturday’s second round, after the Welshman defied seven maximums from former Masters champion Chris Dobey to close out an impressive win.
Newly-crowned World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker also prevailed on his European Championship debut, continuing his fine form with a comprehensive 6-1 success against Josh Rock.
De Decker will lock horns with Danny Noppert in round two, after the Dutchman kicked off Friday’s action a resounding 6-2 victory over Joe Cullen, sealing the deal with a spectacular 170 checkout.
The second round of the European Championship will take place across a bumper double session on Saturday, as Humphries and Clayton collide in the evening’s penultimate tie.
Four-time European Champion Michael van Gerwen will renew his rivalry with Gary Anderson in a show-stopping clash, while world number two Michael Smith meets Ritchie Edhouse.
The Machineseeker European Championship is being broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in the UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).
2024 Machineseeker European Championship
Friday October 25
First Round
Danny Noppert 6-2 Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Chris Dobey
James Wade 6-3 Rob Cross
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Damon Heta
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Peter Wright
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Luke Littler
Luke Humphries 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Mike De Decker 6-1 Josh Rock
Saturday October 26
Afternoon Session (1245-1700 CEST, 1145-1600 BST)
Second Round x4
Ryan Searle v Luke Woodhouse
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith v Ritchie Edhouse
Mike De Decker v Danny Noppert
Evening Session (1900-2300 CEST, 1800-2200 BST)
Second Round x4
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Humphries v Jonny Clayton
Andrew Gilding v Ricardo Pietreczko
Best of 19 legs
——ENDS——
Images: Kelly Deckers/PDC
