Nathan Aspinall produced a brilliant performance to kickstart his bid to reclaim his title in Leverkusen, as Jan Schmidt\u2019s memorable weekend continued at the European Darts Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reigning European Darts Open champion Aspinall opened his campaign in Germany with a staggering 6-1 victory over Mickey Mansell, which saw the Stockport star average over 107 on his way to victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall started the contest with a 14-dart hold, before dropping his only leg of the contest to Mansell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 34-year-old, who has already won a European Tour title this year in Munich, claimed the lead once again with a 12-darter, before winning four legs on the spin in five visits, the last being another 12-dart leg to wrap up proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“People keep thinking I’ve retired!” Aspinall joked, as the former World Matchplay champion made his return to the European Tour stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Mickey played well, but I felt so relaxed tonight. I think the thought of watching England later made me relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s a great win and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I knew I had a tough game in Mickey, he plays his way but it didn’t affect me, I’m just very happy with the win.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall will face Ross Smith in round three tomorrow, after the former European Champion swept aside Niels Zonneveld 6-1 in the final game of the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, Schmidt\u2019s dream run in Leverkusen continues into the final day, as the German Host Nation Qualifier beat former World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in a gruelling last-leg decider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will take what I get, for me it\u2019s not important who my opponent is,” Schmidt reiterated after his round two victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI try to play my game, I play against the best players in the world and we\u2019ll see tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German youngster will now face James Wade in round three, after the 43-year-old beat Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day Two saw the seeded stars kick off their campaigns at the Ostermann-Arena, as top seed Gian van Veen averaged upwards of 101 in his 6-3 victory over Niko Springer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Springer, who averaged 102 himself, failed to overcome the powerful performance from Van Veen, who looks to build on this victory to claim his first European Tour title on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski will clash with Van Veen in round three following a 6-3 victory over Max Hopp, whilst his compatriot Sebastian Bialecki also enjoyed success, beating Danny Noppert by the same scoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke Woodhouse and Jermaine Wattimena raced into round three, as the pair enjoyed whitewash victories in the afternoon, dispatching Dragutin Horvat and Kim Huybrechts respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woodhouse will lock horns with Welshman Jonny Clayton in Sunday afternoon\u2019s action, as Clayton beat Karel Sedlacek 6-1, whereas Wattimena will meet Ryan Joyce after the Geordie\u2019s brilliant finishing display was too much for Stephen Bunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 40-year-old beat Bunting 6-4 in the opening game of the evening, as Bunting suffered his fourth round two exit this year on the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ProTour Rankings leader Wessel Nijman enjoyed a comfortable victory to put himself in the hat for Sunday, as the Dutchman beat former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks 6-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nijman – who is the only player to win two European Tour titles this year – will face compatriot Dirk van Duijvenbode in round three, after the Dutchman beat Chris Dobey 6-2 in a convincing victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five-time champion Michael van Gerwen also raced into Finals Day with a comprehensive 6-2 victory over Joe Cullen, sealed with a superb 11-darter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Gerwen lit up the Leverkusen stage with a brilliant performance, converting finishes of 142 and 130 to book his place in the last 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dutchman will next face Damon Heta, who opened Day Two with a 6-4 victory over Rob Owen, as the Australian looks to make his first European Tour final since this tournament last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kevin Doets completed the last 16 line-up, punishing a below-par display from German number one Martin Schindler to set up a showdown against Bialecki for a place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RESULTS Evening Session Nathan Aspinall produced a brilliant performance to kickstart his bid to reclaim his title in Leverkusen, as Jan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-14697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Round Two
Afternoon Session
<\/strong>Damon Heta 6-4 Rob Owen
Jan Schmidt 6-5 Mike De Decker
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Dragutin Horvat
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Danny Noppert
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Kim Huybrechts
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Chris Dobey
Wessel Nijman 6-0 Bradley Brooks
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Max Hopp<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Ryan Joyce 6-4 Stephen Bunting
James Wade 6-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Karel Sedlacek
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Joe Cullen
Gian van Veen 6-3 Niko Springer
Kevin Doets 6-3 Martin Schindler
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Ross Smith 6-1 Niels Zonneveld<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"