Michael van Gerwen's poor form in 2026 continues as he suffers second-round Dutch Darts Championship defeat to Williams O'Connor; Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall each progress; watch Grand Slam of Darts live on Sky Sports from November 14-22
Dutch favourite Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock second-round exit at the Dutch Darts Championship on Saturday, losing 6-5 to Irishman William O'Connor.
The defeat extends Van Gerwen's poor run of form, having lost his opening match at four European Tour events this season before arriving in Maastricht: the European Darts Trophy, German Darts Grand Prix, Flanders Darts Trophy and Swiss Darts Trophy. It marks his most first-round exits in a single season since the tour began in 2012.
O'Connor produced a superb display, firing in three ton-plus checkouts of 136, 131 and 121 to seal his victory and book his place in round three.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Gerwyn Price's return to the stage ended in glory as he beat Scott Williams 6-3, while Gian van Veen broke the European Tour record average.
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Martin Schindler and Stephen Bunting also jumped into the qualification spots for Dortmund.
Van Veen averaged a staggering 120.24 in whitewashing Sebastian Bialecki, breaking the previous record of 118.66 by Dave Chisnall.
Schindler sealed his spot at the European Championships later this month with his victory over Karel Sedlacek.
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Bunting left it late to secure his place at the European Championship, beating already-qualified Cameron Menzies 6-2 to book his spot. The former Masters champion needed a strong finish to get over the line.
The 41-year-old pinned six out of ten attempts at the outer ring in his victory over the Scot, and jumped into the qualifying places, knocking Kim Huybrechts out of the running.
Brendan Dolan remains the only player capable of pushing Sedlacek out of the European Championship qualifying spots after beating Heine Uuldriks 6-4. The Northern Irishman had led 4-1 before being pegged back.
Nathan Aspinall ended Michael Smith's hopes of qualifying for Dortmund with a dominant 6-1 victory. The World Grand Prix semi-finalist averaged over 102 to dispatch the former world champion.
Wessel Nijman and Danny Noppert also secured their places in Sunday's action, with the Dutch pair defeating Jeffrey De Graaf and Dave Chisnall respectively.
Niels Zonneveld edged a last-leg decider against Krzysztof Ratajski, hitting seven maximums for the second consecutive match to book his place in round three. Fellow Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena also progressed, beating Host Nation Qualifier Jimmy van Schie 6-2.
European Tour ranking leader Ross Smith will face Ryan Searle in round three after overcoming Ryan Joyce and Dirk van Duijvenbode respectively.
RESULTS! 🇳🇱 Confirmation of tonight's results from Maastricht, as the final eight players book their place in Sunday's action! 📺 https://t.co/Dogi6ykEH5 #ET15 pic.twitter.com/0JR5xuAzsa
Damon Heta averaged over 103 in a dominant 6-1 victory over Jonny Clayton, securing his first win against the Welshman since May last year.
Luke Woodhouse also booked his place in Sunday's action with a comfortable victory over Andrew Gilding.
Cristo Reyes brought the evening's action to a close in style, averaging over 110 in a 6-2 win against Chris Dobey while converting 60 per cent of his attempts at double.
The Dutch Darts Championship concludes with a bumper double session on Sunday, as the final 16 players battle it out for the title in Maastricht.
Round three (12pm) Gian van Veen vs Brendan Dolan Ryan Searle vs Ross Smith William O'Connor vs Luke Woodhouse Danny Noppert vs Jermaine Wattimena Gerwyn Price vs Niels Zonneveld Wessel Nijman vs Cristo Reyes Damon Heta vs Martin Schindler Stephen Bunting vs Nathan Aspinall
Evening session (6pm) Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
Round two Martin Schindler 6-4 Karel Sedlacek Wessel Nijman 6-3 Jeffrey De Graaf Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Andrew Gilding Ross Smith 6-2 Ryan Joyce Danny Noppert 6-4 Dave Chisnall Ryan Searle 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode Brendan Dolan 6-4 Heine Uuldriks Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski Gerwyn Price 6-3 Scott Williams Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Jimmy van Schie Stephen Bunting 6-2 Cameron Menzies Gian van Veen 6-0 Sebastian Bialecki William O'Connor 6-5 Michael van Gerwen Damon Heta 6-1 Jonny Clayton Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Michael Smith Cristo Reyes 6-2 Chris Dobey
Round one Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Callan Rydz Cameron Menzies 6-1 Nick Kenny Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Mickey Mansell Dave Chisnall 6-4 Jonas Masalin Andrew Gilding 6-5 Max Hopp Ryan Joyce 6-0 Owen Bates Heine Uuldriks 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 James Hurrell Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Daryl Gurney William O'Connor 6-2 Richard Veenstra Scott Williams 6-5 Niko Springer Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Mike De Decker Jimmy van Schie 6-5 Kim Huybrechts Cristo Reyes 6-2 Krzysztof Kciuk Damon Heta 6-4 Maikel Verberk Michael Smith 6-5 Stephen Burton
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Source: Sports
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