Littler sets up Humphries showdown in European Darts Grand Prix

Luke Littler set up a blockbuster showdown with world No 1 Luke Humphries at the European Darts Grand Prix in Germany after breezing through his opening match on Friday night.

Littler swept Germany’s Arno Merk 6-0 while averaging 101 and will now face Humphries in the last 32 in a repeat of January’s World Championship final, which Humphries won 7-4 in sets.

Littler and Humphries will clash on Saturday night in Sindelfingen, with defending champion Rob Cross, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith also in action that day as the 16 seeded players begin their tournaments in the second round.

Round three takes place on Sunday afternoon before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are staged later that evening.

Daryl Gurney, Brendan Dolan and Raymond van Barneveld were among the round-one winners on Friday night – Van Barneveld will now face Smith in the next stage

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But Peter Wright squandered two match darts in the decider to lose 6-5 to Mickey Mansell, while 2022 Masters champion Joe Cullen was knocked out by Johan Engstrom as he missed out on a second-round meeting with Van Gerwen.

Nathan Aspinall, who won Night 12 of Premier League Darts in Rotterdam on Thursday, has opted out of the tournament for personal reasons, while reigning UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh is absent through illness.

European Darts Grand Prix – round one results

Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-1 Callan RydzKeane Barry 6-5 Stephen BurtonScott Williams 6-1 Niko SpringerBrendan Dolan 6-4 Andrew GildingLuke Woodhouse 6-4 Martin LukemanJohan Engstrom 6-1 Joe CullenChristian Perez 6-4 Niels ZonneveldDaryl Gurney 6-2 Jose de SousaRitchie Edhouse 6-2 James WadeStephen Bunting 6-1 Romeo GrbavacRaymond van Barneveld 6-2 Franz RoetzschChris Dobey 6-1 Ian WhiteArno Merk 6-0 Luke LittlerMartin Schindler 6-2 Gian van VeenPeter Wright 5-6 Mickey MansellGabriel Clemens 6-1 Rene Eidams

European Darts Grand Prix – round two fixtures

Krzysztof Ratajski vs Scott WilliamsRoss Smith vs Luke WoodhouseRyan Searle vs Stephen BuntingDirk van Duijvenbode vs Ritchie EdhouseDanny Noppert vs Daryl GurneyJonny Clayton vs Chris DobeyDave Chisnall vs Keane BarryJosh Rock vs Jeffrey SparidaansGary Anderson vs Christian PerezGerwyn Price vs Brendan DolanMichael Smith vs Raymond van BarneveldDamon Heta vs Mickey MansellRob Cross vs Martin SchindlerMichael van Gerwen vs Johan EngstromLuke Humphries vs Luke LittlerRicardo Pietreczko vs Gabriel Clemens

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Cross defeated Humphries 8-6 in the 2023 final, after Humphries had edged Cross 8-7 to win the 2022 edition.

The 2024 tournament is the fourth leg of this year’s PDC European Tour with Littler (Belgian Darts Open), Humphries (German Darts Grand Prix) and Martin Schindler (International Darts Open) triumphing in the first three events.

Leg five, the Austrian Darts Open, takes place in Graz between Friday April 26 and Sunday April 28, with Jonny Clayton the defending champion after seeing off Josh Rock in the 2023 final.

Watch Night 13 of Premier League Darts, in Liverpool, live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm on Thursday April 25 or stream with NOW.

Premier League Darts, Night 13, Liverpool – live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm Thursday

Quarter-finals

Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price

Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall

Peter Wright vs Michael van Gerwen

Michael Smith vs Rob Cross

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