Brothers Kim and Ronny Huybrechts enjoyed home wins as the 2020 European Tour season got underway on Friday with the first round of the Belgian Darts Championship.
The £140,000 tournament at Expo Hasselt opened with wins for four Belgian hopefuls, as the Huybrechts brothers were joined in the last 32 by Dimitri Van den Bergh and Mike De Decker.
Former World Cup finalist Kim Huybrechts enjoyed a 6-2 win over Ryan Harrington to begin his bid for a third European Tour title.
The Antwerp thrower led 3-0 before Harrington hit back to 3-2, but he crucially missed four darts to level in leg six as Huybrechts capitalised on the let-off to close out victory, setting up a second round tie with Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Elder brother Ronny was in clinical form as he landed six doubles from nine attempts in a big 6-1 win over World Youth Champion Luke Humphries, and he now plays Michael Smith.
Two-time World Youth Champion Van den Bergh picked up a 6-3 win over Derk Telnekes, creating a second round meeting with 2019 Czech Darts Open champion Jamie Hughes.
Youngster De Decker, meanwhile, was a narrow 6-5 winner over Dutchman Ron Meulenkamp, setting up a tasty tie with world number one Michael van Gerwen on Saturday.
There was disappointment, though for Geert De Vos as the qualifier went down 6-2 to Danny Noppert, while Steve West whitewashed newcomer Jeffrey van Edgom 6-0.
2019 Brisbane Darts Masters champion Damon Heta enjoyed a superb European Tour debut with a 6-0 whitewash of Michael Barnard, averaging an impressive 102.48 in the win.
Dirk van Duijvenbode also posted a ton-plus average, seeing off Luke Woodhouse 6-4 with six doubles from ten attempts and a 101.59 average in moving through to meet number two seed Ian White.
Germany's Gabriel Clemens now plays Krzysztof Ratajski - the winner of last year's final European Tour event in Gibraltar - in round two after defeating Callan Rydz 6-3.
Steve Lennon defied finishes of 151 an 124 from Rowby-John Rodriguez as he came from 3-2 down to win 6-3 and progress to a second round tie with James Wade.
Mervyn King was a 6-4 winner over Justin Pipe in a clash of former European Tour event winners, securing a meeting with Glen Durrant on Saturday.
Dutch debutant Martijn Kleermaker survived a fightback from 5-1 down by Stephen Bunting before claiming a 6-4 win in his first European Tour appearance, and he now plays Joe Cullen in round two.
Wesley Plaisier was another Dutchman to progress, edging out Slovenia's Benjamin Pratnemer 6-5 in a tight contest to earn a meeting with world number three Gerwyn Price.
Recent Players Championship winner Ryan Searle was too strong for debutant Darren Penhall with a 6-3 success, setting up a second round tie with Mensur Suljovic.
Steve Beaton now plays Nathan Aspinall in round two after seeing off Hong Kong's Kai Fan Leung 6-4, while Andy Hamilton made a winning return to the European Tour stage with a 6-5 defeat of Andy Boulton, moving himself through to a meeting with World Champion Peter Wright.
Saturday's second round will be followed on Sunday by the final day of action as the £140,000 tournament culminates. For tickets, visit www.pdc-europe.tv or purchase at Expo Hasselt.
Coverage of the Belgian Darts Championship is available for all PDCTV Subscribers worldwide, as well as through a series of bookmakers' websites.
Friday results & weekend schedule
Friday February 28
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Afternoon Session (12pm GMT)
- Ryan Searle 6-3 Darren Penhall
- Andy Hamilton 6-5 Andy Boulton
- Steve Beaton 6-4 Kai Fan Leung
- Ronny Huybrechts 6-1 Luke Humphries
- Damon Heta 6-0 Michael Barnard
- Wesley Plaisier 6-5 Benjamin Pratnemer
- Martijn Kleermaker 6-4 Stephen Bunting
- Mervyn King 6-4 Justin Pipe
Evening Session (6.15pm GMT)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
- Mike De Decker 6-4 Ron Meulenkamp
- Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Callan Rydz
- Danny Noppert 6-2 Geert De Vos
- Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Ryan Harrington
- Steve Lennon 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Steve West 6-0 Jeffrey van Egdom
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Derk Telnekes
Saturday February 29
Second Round (Best of 11 legs)
Afternoon Session (12pm GMT)
- Michael Smith v Ronny Huybrechts
- Joe Cullen v Martijn Kleermaker
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Gabriel Clemens
- Glen Durrant v Mervyn King
- Rob Cross v Damon Heta
- Ian White v Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Jermaine Wattimena v Danny Noppert
- James Wade v Steve Lennon
Evening Session (6.15pm GMT)
- Nathan Aspinall v Steve Beaton
- Gerwyn Price v Wesley Plaisier
- Peter Wright v Andy Hamilton
- Michael van Gerwen v Mike De Decker
- Jeffrey de Zwaan v Kim Huybrechts
- Jamie Hughes v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Mensur Suljovic v Ryan Searle
- Jonny Clayton v Steve West
Sunday March 1
Afternoon Session (12pm GMT)
Third Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Four matches in draw bracket order
Evening Session (6.15pm GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 legs)
- Four matches in draw bracket order
Semi-Finals (Best of 13 legs)
- Two matches in draw bracket order
Final (Best of 15 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
