John Henderson, Kim Huybrechts, Michael Smith and William O'Connor were among the players to make it through to the second day of the European Darts Matchplay.
The 11th European Tour event of 2019 saw 32 players in action at the Maimarkthalle in Mannheim, all looking to secure places in Saturday's second round where the 16 seeded players will enter the £140,000 event.
Huybrechts defeated Robert Thornton to secure a place in the second round in a last leg decider, in a match where Thornton took out a 170 finish.
The Belgian averaged 97.35 in a thrilling contest which saw Huybrechts prevail over the 2015 World Grand Prix Champion who missed a dart at tops to win the match.
"It was a really tough game for the both of us. We know what we can do but we’re not doing it at the right time," said Huybrechts, who will meet 2019 Austrian Darts Championship winner Mensur Suljovic in round two.
"The standard is getting so high and you need to follow it. After a few losses you will really struggle to get back to the level you were at."
Michael Smith set up a tantalising second round clash with Michael van Gerwen after coming out the 6-3 victor against Steve Lennon.
Lennon’s World Cup of Darts partner William O’Connor will play Peter Wright in Saturday's second round after winning a nail-biting deciding leg against German number one Max Hopp.
Karsten Koch also reeled in the big fish, joining Thornton in taking out a 170 on his way to a 6-3 win over Maik Kuivenhoven, while Jamie Hughes survived a scare as his match with Wesley Plaisier went all the way to a deciding leg.
Veteran Wayne Jones shocked Jeffrey de Zwaan with a 6-4 victory and Simon Stevenson defeated Florian Hempel 6-3.
In the opening session, Scott Taylor battled from 4-2 down to claim a 6-5 victory over Matthew Edgar and 19-year-old Bradley Brooks set up a second round clash with James Wade after beating Mark McGeeney 6-4, despite the Englishman averaging nearly 102.
Ryan Meikle achieved his first European Tour victory of the year over Brett Claydon, with Host Nation Qualifier Marvin Wehder getting past Dennis Nilsson on his European Tour debut.
Elsewhere, former two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis will face Dirk van Duijvenbode in his first assignment of the weekend, after Van Duijvenbode fought off a spirited comeback from Krzysztof Kciuk to win 6-5 in a last leg decider.
Henderson achieved the only winning 100-plus average of the afternoon session as he posted a mark of 101.72 in a 6-3 victory over Ryan Joyce.
New Zealander Cody Harris punished Ross Smith’s crucial missed darts at double with a 6-4 victory setting up a clash with Glen Durrant, while Gabriel Clemens put in a dominant display as he defeated Steffen Siepmann 6-2.
Friday results & Saturday schedule
Friday September 6
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Afternoon Session
- Scott Taylor 6-5 Matthew Edgar
- Bradley Brooks 6-4 Mark McGeeney
- Ryan Meikle 6-3 Brett Claydon
- Marvin Wehder 6-3 Dennis Nilsson
- Cody Harris 6-4 Ross Smith
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Krzysztof Kciuk
- John Henderson 6-3 Ryan Joyce
- Gabriel Clemens 6-2 Steffen Siepmann
Evening Session
- Simon Stevenson 6-3 Florian Hempel
- Jamie Hughes 6-5 Wesley Plaisier
- Keegan Brown 6-3 Simon Whitlock
- Karsten Koch 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
- Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Robert Thornton
- Michael Smith 6-3 Steve Lennon
- William O'Connor 6-5 Max Hopp
- Wayne Jones 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Saturday September 7
Second Round
Afternoon Session
- Dave Chisnall v Ryan Meikle
- Jonny Clayton v Scott Taylor
- James Wade v Bradley Brooks
- Adrian Lewis v Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Glen Durrant v Cody Harris
- Daryl Gurney v John Henderson
- Gerwyn Price v Simon Stevenson
- Rob Cross v Marvin Wedher
Evening Session
- Ricky Evans v Karsten Koch
- Ian White v Gabriel Clemens
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Keegan Brown
- Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith
- Mensur Suljovic v Kim Huybrechts
- Peter Wright v William O'Connor
- Nathan Aspinall v Wayne Jones
- Joe Cullen v Jamie Hughes
Click here for full tournament results & schedule
