Luke Littler produced a breathtaking display to open his bid for Poland Darts Open glory on Saturday, as Luke Humphries defied a late Krzysztof Ratajski fightback to end home hopes in Krak\u00f3w.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second day action at the inaugural Poland Darts Open saw the seeded stars enter the fray at the EXPO, as Littler delivered a darting masterclass in dispatching Mike De Decker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world number one averaged 113.84 and pinned all six of his attempts at double to run out a 6-1 winner against the former World Grand Prix champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I definitely needed to put on a performance tonight,”\u00a0admitted Littler, who won the last four legs of the contest in just 47 darts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s not gone my way in the first three weeks of the Premier League, but I certainly want to be the first winner here in Poland this weekend.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries, meanwhile, fired in a 15-dart break to triumph in a deciding-leg thriller against home hero Ratajski, who fought back from 5-2 adrift to threaten a sensational fightback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European Champion Gian van Veen also advanced via a last-leg shoot-out, denying Andrew Gilding to set up a fascinating showdown against Nathan Aspinall on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall, who claimed top spot on the European Tour rankings last year, began his 2026 campaign with an impressive 6-3 win against Darryl Pilgrim, who averaged 101 in a losing cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jonny Clayton and Michael Smith will also go head-to-head on Finals Day, after overcoming Adam Gawlas and Joe Cullen respectively on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clayton put in a clinical display on the outer ring to sink a spirited Gawlas 6-4, before Smith crashed in seven 180s to edge out Cullen, sealing his progress with an 11-dart break in the decider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Gary Anderson and James Wade were amongst the high-profile casualties on a bumper day of round two action, as five seeds crashed out in Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wessel Nijman recorded a fourth consecutive victory over Anderson to secure his place in the last 16, averaging 103.46 to complete a 6-2 success against the two-time World Champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I don’t know how I keep beating him,”\u00a0admitted Nijman, who faces Anderson’s compatriot Cameron Menzies in the last 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Against Gary, I think it’s just a good rhythm. I’m very happy with the way I played today, and I hope I can bring the same game as I did today into tomorrow.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menzies was similarly impressive on Day Two, whitewashing a below-par Wade to defeat the left-hander for the fifth time in six meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris Dobey also progressed with a whitewash win over Connor Scutt, converting 67% of his attempts at double to create a last 16 tussle against Luke Woodhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woodhouse overturned a 4-1 deficit to account for Callan Rydz, reeling off five straight legs to triumph with a 102 average, and completing the comeback with a clinical 118 kill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cristo Reyes will feature at Finals Day in a European Tour event for the first time since 2018, averaging north of 99 in a 6-2 victory against World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Spaniard’s reward is a showdown against Premier League star Josh Rock, who opened his title challenge with a comprehensive 6-1 win over William O’Connor \u2013 aided by a 103 average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ross Smith also landed a ton-plus average in his 6-1 demolition of Daryl Gurney, and the former European Champion will now take on Littler to kick off Finals Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen Bunting and Jermaine Wattimena will renew their rivalry on the European Tour stage, after coming through gruelling contests against Niels Zonneveld and Danny Noppert respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bunting defied six 180s from Zonneveld to wrap up a hard-fought 6-4 win, while Wattimena survived multiple match darts to deny Noppert in an all-Dutch affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Croatia’s Boris Krcmar completes the last 16 line-up, and his reward for dumping out German number one Martin Schindler will be a round three tussle against Humphries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year’s opening European Tour event concludes on Sunday, with the afternoon session’s round three followed in the evening session by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RESULTS<\/strong> Luke Littler produced a breathtaking display to open his bid for Poland Darts Open glory on Saturday, as<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5744,"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":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-9733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","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
<\/strong>Boris Krcmar 6-4 Martin Schindler
Chris Dobey 6-0 Connor Scutt
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Darryl Pilgrim
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Danny Noppert
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Gary Anderson
Cameron Menzies 6-0 James Wade
Ross Smith 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Ryan Searle
<\/strong>Josh Rock 6-1 William O’Connor
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Michael Smith 6-5 Joe Cullen
Luke Littler 6-1 Mike De Decker
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Callan Rydz
Luke Humphries 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Gian van Veen 6-5 Andrew Gilding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"