Gian van Veen (Photo by Taylor Lanning/PDC)
Gian van Veen curtailed Luke Humphries’ bid for a third consecutive Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals title, as Luke Littler stormed through to Round Two in Minehead.
Day One of the £600,000 tournament saw Van Veen and Humphries playing out a deciding-leg epic, in a repeat of last month’s European Championship showpiece.
Humphries raced into a commanding 3-0 lead, only for Van Veen – aided by a sensational 161 checkout – to win five of the next six legs to establish a 5-4 cushion.
The Dutchman then squandered two match darts in leg ten, but he maintained his composure in the decider to record a fourth consecutive victory over Humphries.
Littler, however, averaged 104.46 in his 6-1 demolition of Jeffrey de Graaf, pinning six of his eight attempts at double and rounding off the contest with a hat-trick of 14-darters.
“It felt amazing being introduced as the world number one,” admitted the 18-year-old, who is chasing a sixth televised ranking title of the year.
“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve had [in my career,] and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Top seed Gerwyn Price opened his title challenge with an emphatic 6-2 win against Max Hopp, which featured a magnificent 154 checkout midway through proceedings.
However, second seed Wessel Nijman was dumped out in a decider by his fellow countryman Richard Veenstra, despite averaging 102.41 and landing five maximums.
Former finalists Jonny Clayton, Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall also suffered opening round exits, succumbing to James Hurrell, Sebastian Bialecki and Ryan Joyce respectively.
Joyce will take on sixth seed Jermaine Wattimena for a place in the last 16, after Wattimena averaged almost 102 to triumph in his all-Dutch encounter against Wesley Plaisier.
World number four Stephen Bunting and 2018 winner Daryl Gurney will also go head-to-head, following comfortable wins over Ritchie Edhouse and Brendan Dolan on Day One.
Gurney is one of three former champions left standing at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, after Scottish icons Gary Anderson and Peter Wright also made winning returns.
Anderson defeated Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-2 to book a meeting with German number two Ricardo Pietreczko, who condemned William O’Connor to a fourth straight opening round exit at this event.
Wright, meanwhile, completed a 6-3 success against Joe Cullen to set up a heavyweight showdown against world number six James Wade, who saw off Mickey Mansell by the same scoreline.
Danny Noppert maintained his sparkling form, averaging 103.84 to dispatch Ricky Evans and set up a clash against Madars Razma, who accounted for another Dutchman in Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Elsewhere, Germany’s number one Martin Schindler came out on top against former World Champion Michael Smith, while Josh Rock preserved his hopes courtesy of a routine 6-3 success against Gabriel Clemens.
Nathan Aspinall produced a magical 170 checkout on his way to a 6-3 victory over Czech number one Karel Sedlacek, in a high-quality affair which featured eight maximums.
Kevin Doets also reeled in the 170 finish during his tie against Callan Rydz, although it came in a losing cause as Rydz moved through to an encounter against 2021 runner-up Ryan Searle.
Searle delivered a doubling masterclass in toppling Darren Beveridge 6-1, after fourth seed Ross Smith swept aside Ryan Meikle in identical fashion to create a fascinating tie against Littler.
Andrew Gilding survived nine match darts in overturning a 5-3 deficit against Dom Taylor, and the former UK Open champion will now play Justin Hood, who dumped out third seed Damon Heta on debut.
Cam Crabtree also enjoyed a debut to remember, rallying from 4-1 down to deny former World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker and advance to a meeting with fifth seed Chris Dobey.
Dobey demolished Ireland’s Keane Barry in Friday’s finale, punishing a profligate display from the young Irishman to wrap up a crushing 6-1 victory.
Krzysztof Ratajski won through a scrappy affair against a struggling Raymond van Barneveld, and Poland’s number one will face European Champion Van Veen for a spot in Round Three.
Bradley Brooks and Adam Lipscombe will collide, after kicking off their campaigns with 6-1 thrashings against Martin Lukeman and Cameron Menzies.
Scott Williams, Luke Woodhouse and Nick Kenny completed the Round Two line-up, courtesy of wins over Ian White, Alan Soutar and Niels Zonneveld respectively.
RESULTS
Round One: Sebastian Bialecki 6-2 Rob Cross; Ryan Joyce 6-4 Dave Chisnall; Cam Crabtree 6-5 Mike De Decker; Danny Noppert 6-2 Ricky Evans; James Wade 6-3 Mickey Mansell; James Hurrell 6-3 Jonny Clayton; Ross Smith 6-1 Ryan Meikle; Bradley Brooks 6-1 Martin Lukeman; Andrew Gilding 6-5 Dom Taylor; Scott Williams 6-2 Ian White; Nick Kenny 6-4 Niels Zonneveld; Callan Rydz 6-4 Kevin Doets; Adam Lipscombe 6-1 Cameron Menzies; Daryl Gurney 6-3 Brendan Dolan; Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Alan Soutar; Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 William O’Connor; Martin Schindler 6-4 Michael Smith; Josh Rock 6-3 Gabriel Clemens; Gerwyn Price 6-2 Max Hopp; Stephen Bunting 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse; Luke Littler 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf; Gian van Veen 6-5 Luke Humphries; Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Karel Sedlacek; Chris Dobey 6-1 Keane Barry; Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Wesley Plaisier; Ryan Searle 6-1 Darren Beveridge; Richard Veenstra 6-5 Wessel Nijman; Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld; Madars Razma 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode; Gary Anderson 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde; Peter Wright 6-3 Joe Cullen; Justin Hood 6-4 Damon Heta
