Michael Smith secured his spot at the Unibet European Championship after blitzing past Danny Noppert on the second day of the 2019 Gibraltar Darts Trophy.
The tournament's 16 seeded players, including world number one Michael van Gerwen, entered the tournament on Saturday and although Smith didn't perform to his usual standard, a 6-1 victory confirms his place in Göttingen in October.
Kim Huybrechts was the only non-seeded player to reach the third round after a 6-3 win over Jonny Clayton, and in doing so the Belgian kept his European Championship qualification hopes alive.
A win over James Wade tomorrow would see Huybrechts knock Ross Smith out of the 32-man field and claim himself a spot at the event.
Elsewhere, Van Gerwen reeled off five legs on the spin to come from 3-1 down to defeat emerging talent Jose De Sousa 6-3 in a thrilling match which saw De Sousa bust 120 when he led 3-1.
Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Joyce kicked off Round Two with an incredible match which saw every leg won in five visits or fewer. Aspinall averaged 108.14 in a 6-4 victory over fellow-Englishman Joyce who also averaged over a ton.
Gerwyn Price rounded off the evening's action with a 6-0 whitewash over Host Nation Qualifier David Francis.
Peter Wright and Mensur Suljovic both claimed 6-1 victories over Dyson Parody and Wessel Nijman respectively, with Ian White also claiming a spot in the third round with a 6-1 win over Michal Rosenauer.
Joe Cullen ended Ritchie Edhouse's European Championship qualification hopes with a 6-3 victory, while Krzysztof Ratajski defeated Steve Beaton by the same scoreline.
Daryl Gurney shook off the challenge of a resilient Carl Wilkinson to win 6-4, with Wade also securing a spot on Finals Day after defeating Paul Rowley 6-2.
Despite not being at his best, World Matchplay champion Rob Cross ground out a 6-3 win against Poland's Krzysztof Kciuk and Dave Chisnall struck the only break of throw in the final leg of his 6-5 win over Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Gibraltar Darts Trophy: Saturday results and Sunday schedule
Saturday September 28
Second Round
Afternoon Session
- Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ryan Joyce
- James Wade 6-2 Paul Rowley
- Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Steve Beaton
- Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Jonny Clayton
- Rob Cross 6-3 Krzysztof Kciuk
- Daryl Gurney 6-4 Carl Wilkinson
- Dave Chisnall 6-5 Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Michael Smith 6-1 Danny Noppert
Evening Session
- Ian White 6-1 Michael Rosenauer
- Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Wessel Nijman
- Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Jose De Sousa
- Peter Wright 6-1 Dyson Parody
- Joe Cullen 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
- Glen Durrant 6-3 Chris Dobey
- Gerwyn Price 6-0 David Francis
Sunday September 8
Afternoon Session (1200 BST)
Third Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
- Peter Wright v Mensur Suljovic
- James Wade v Kim Huybrechts
- Dave Chisnall v Jermaine Wattimena
- Ian White v Michael Smith
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Joe Cullen
- Daryl Gurney v Glen Durrant
- Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
Evening Session (1815 BST)
Quarter-finals (Best of 11 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen/Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright/Mensur Suljovic
- James Wade/Kim Huybrechts v Dave Chisnall/Jermaine Wattimena
- Ian White/Michael Smith v Krzysztof Ratajski/Joe Cullen
- Daryl Gurney/Glen Durrant v Gerwyn Price/Rob Cross
Semi-finals (Best of 13 legs)
- Two matches
Final (Best of 15 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
