James Wade celebrated a landmark victory over Luke Littler to set up a quarter-final clash against world number one Luke Humphries at the European Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of the focus ahead of the tournament was on a potential last eight showdown between Humphries and Littler, although Wade put paid to that prospect by dumping out the World Champion in front of over 7,000 fans at the Westfalenhalle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pair remarkably boasted identical averages in a closely-fought contest, but Wade’s superior finishing saw him wrap up a 10-7 win and inflict Littler’s first ever defeat in the last 16 of a TV ranking event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Littler recovered from 2-0 and 6-4 deficits to level against the experienced left-hander, yet Wade was unperturbed, winning each of the last three legs to secure his first victory against the teenager in a televised ranking event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Luke didn’t play his A-game there, but I’m really happy with that win,”\u00a0claimed 2018 champion Wade, who was aided by a trio of ton-plus checkouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think I probably should have run away with the game earlier than I did, but it’s a big positive to move forwards.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries booked his place in Sunday’s Finals Day with an epic deciding-leg victory over Cameron Menzies, averaging 103.64 to end the Scot’s valiant resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menzies looked to be on the cusp of a famous win at 8-6 ahead, but Humphries delivered the goods in the closing stages, following up an 11-dart break with an 83 finish on the bull to turn the tide before double 18 sealed the comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m proud of my performance, but I think I’m more proud of the way I held myself together,”\u00a0admitted Humphries, who will now retain his world number one status following the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Cameron is a fantastic player. When he’s in full flow he’s amazing and I had to really work hard to stay with him at times in that game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s great to average 110, but when you’re winning games when you are really under the cosh and things are going against you, it’s quite pleasing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, Ricardo Pietreczko maintained home hopes on Day Two in Dortmund to set up a quarter-final showdown with Danny Noppert, in a repeat of their clash at the same stage of the 2024 event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pietreczko delighted his partisan home crowd with a 10-6 victory against 2024 runner-up Jermaine Wattimena, punishing 24 missed darts at double from the Dutchman to advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German number two will now renew his rivalry with Noppert, who averaged north of 101 to dump out top seed Nathan Aspinall in a high-quality affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall crashed in eight 180s but still found himself adrift at 9-5, and his late fightback came in vain as Noppert nailed a brilliant 130 on the bull to reach the last eight for a fifth consecutive year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noppert’s compatriot Gian van Veen also remains in the hunt for a maiden televised ranking title, after producing a sublime display to dismantle Ryan Searle 10-2 in Saturday’s opening tie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Youth Champion was imperious from start to finish at the Westfalenhalle, averaging 109.92, landing seven 180s and converting a show-stopping 170 checkout to book a place in his second European Championship quarter-final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This was one of my best performances on TV,” admitted 2023 semi-finalist Van Veen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I always knew I had this in the locker, and maybe a big title is around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“To see where I came from in the last\u00a0three years is amazing. I’m in the top 16 now and I feel even more comfortable than I did last year. I’m really enjoying it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael van Gerwen preserved his bid for a record fifth European Championship success following a 10-5 victory over Chris Dobey, despite an average of 101 from the former Masters champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dobey was punished for a profligate start as Van Gerwen raced into a 5-1 lead, and although the Bedlington star responded with a three-leg spell to reduce the arrears, Van Gerwen regained control to advance with a 100.76 average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I wasn’t at my best, but I think I was solid and I did the right things at the right moments,”\u00a0reflected the Dutchman, who survived seven match darts in his Round One clash against Wessel Nijman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My scoring power wasn’t too great, but my doubles at the beginning of the game got me through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’ve been in these situation more than anybody in this tournament, so I know exactly what you have to do on days like tomorrow. We’re only in the quarter-finals now, so nothing is done yet.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Gerwen’s reward for that victory is a last eight showdown against Daryl Gurney, who produced 116, 122 and 124 finishes in the latter stages of his 10-6 victory against 2022 champion Ross Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Veen, meanwhile, will face debutant Ryan Joyce, who delivered a typically clinical display to dump out German number one Martin Schindler – aided by a superb 67% checkout success rate. James Wade celebrated a landmark victory over Luke Littler to set up a quarter-final clash against world number<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5183,"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-5182","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
RESULTS<\/strong>
Round Two: <\/strong>Gian van Veen 10-2 Ryan Searle; Daryl Gurney 10-6 Ross Smith; Ryan Joyce 10-7 Martin Schindler; Michael van Gerwen 10-5 Chris Dobey; Ricardo Pietreczko 10-6 Jermaine Wattimena; Danny Noppert 10-7 Nathan Aspinall; James Wade 10-7 Luke Littler; Luke Humphries 10-9 Cameron Menzies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"