Littler advances as Doets knocks Van Gerwen out of European Championship

Luke Littler reached the second round of the European Championship in Dortmund with a 6-3 win over William O'Connor on Friday, while Michael van Gerwen was eliminated by fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets. BBC Sport reported that Littler hit six maximums and averaged 105 across three darts as he won the best-of-11 match, returning to competition with a victory after his World Youth Championship semi-final defeat earlier in October.

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The 19-year-old world number one will face Nathan Aspinall in the last 16 after Aspinall also won 6-3, against Cristo Reyes. Littler is seeking the European Championship title to complete his collection of major trophies. The two-time world champion's opening performance put him through without needing a deciding leg, with O'Connor taking three of the nine legs played.

Speaking after the match, Littler said he had spent time practising and playing exhibitions during his break from competition. He described the European Championship as the remaining trophy he particularly wanted, but said he needed to approach the tournament one match at a time rather than place excessive pressure on himself. He also expressed satisfaction at returning to the stage and winning his opening contest.

Van Gerwen's campaign ended after Doets established a 5-1 lead and completed a 6-3 victory. The 37-year-old three-time world champion recovered two legs from that deficit but could not prevent a first-round exit. Doets, 28, will next meet Krzysztof Ratajski, who advanced with a 6-2 win over Dave Chisnall, as Friday's results confirmed another last-16 pairing.

Jonny Clayton and Josh Rock also progressed and will play each other in the next round. Clayton overcame Niko Springer 6-3, while Rock defeated Chris Dobey 6-1. Rock's result was the widest winning margin among the eight first-round matches listed in BBC Sport's Friday results, with his opponent taking only one leg.

Martin Schindler needed a deciding leg to defeat Wessel Nijman 6-5. The German's reward is a second-round meeting with Jermaine Wattimena, who beat Ryan Joyce 6-3. Schindler's victory was the only one of those eight Friday matches to reach an 11th leg, completing a set of results that advanced all eight winners into the last 16.