Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall were among those to book their places in round three of the German Darts Championship, but Stephen Bunting, James Wade and Josh Rock were all knocked out.
Welsh duo Price and Jonny Clayton both impressed in big wins over Dutch opposition – the former seeing off Christian Kist 6-1, the latter beating Raymond van Barneveld 6-3.
Aspinall continued his brilliant form by averaging 107.53 to power past Ross Smith 6-4, with the European Tour Rankings leader next facing Steve Lennon.
Jermaine Wattimena was another impressive winner, as he overcame Wade 6-3 in a tie where both players averaged over 106.
Ryan Joyce ended top seed Bunting’s bid for a second successive European Tour title, defeating the Swiss Darts Trophy champion 6-4 to move through to a tie with Krzysztof Ratajski.
Top seed Stephen Bunting was knocked out at the second round stage by Ryan Joyce
Northern Ireland’s Rock was another to suffer a surprise defeat, losing 6-2 to Ryan Evans after the latter hit six doubles from eight attempts.
Dirk van Duijvenbode continued his incredible start to the tournament with a stunning 117 average in a 6-2 win over Chris Dobey – a night after he struck a nine-darter in round one.
Dobey averaged over 105 in reply and posted legs of 11 and 13 darts – but had no answer to an incredible display from his opponent.
German No 1 Martin Schindler overcame William O’Connor 6-4, with O’Connor averaging over 101 but seeing his hopes of snatching qualification for the European Championship ended by the defeat.
Dave Chisnall claimed a crucial victory in his bid to qualify for next week’s European Championship, crashing in ten 180s to win through a compelling contest against Gabriel Clemens.
Ratajski secured his qualification with a 6-3 success against Ryan Searle, averaging north of 102 to overcome the Somerset star.
However, two-time champion Rob Cross is yet to confirm his spot in Dortmund, after Cameron Menzies romped to a 6-1 victory against the world number seven.
Nathan Aspinall remains in the hunt for the German Darts Championship title after another win
Reigning champion Peter Wright opened his defence of the title by edging out 2023 champion Ricardo Pietreczko, remarkably winning each of his six legs in 15 darts.
World Youth Champion Gian van Veen prevailed in his all-Dutch affair against Niels Zonneveld, averaging just under 99 to set up a showdown against Clayton.
Wessel Nijman landed a sensational ten-darter to wrap up an emphatic 6-2 win over Belgian number one Mike De Decker, who missed double 12 for a nine-darter earlier in the contest.
Elsewhere, Lennon survived six match darts to topple Australian number one Damon Heta in a dramatic decider, while World Grand Prix semi-finalist Danny Noppert saw off a below-par Luke Woodhouse 6-3.
Lennon goes into the final day alongside Evans needing to take the Hildesheim title to snatch European Championship qualification.
German Darts Championship
Saturday October 18 (round two)
Afternoon session
Gian van Veen 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Steve Lennon 6-5 Damon Heta
Danny Noppert 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Ryan Searle
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Mike De Decker
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Rob Cross
Peter Wright 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Gabriel Clemens
Evening Session
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ross Smith
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Christian Kist
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 James Wade
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Chris Dobey
Martin Schindler 6-4 William O’Connor
Ricky Evans 6-2 Josh Rock
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Sunday October 19
Afternoon Session (Round three, 1200 BST)
Gerwyn Price vs Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton vs Gian van Veen
Steve Lennon vs Nathan Aspinall
Jermaine Wattimena vs Wessel Nijman
Cameron Menzies vs Peter Wright
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Martin Schindler
Ricky Evans vs Dave Chisnall
Ryan Joyce vs Krzysztof Ratajski
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
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