Aspinall makes a winning return to the European Tour but Smith is sent packing

Jonny Clayton defeated Michael Smith on the first day of the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest, while Nathan Aspinall triumphed in his first big stage outing since July.

Clayton defeated world number two Smith in a heavyweight first round duel in Budapest, landing four maximums and pinning six of his eleven double attempts to start his career 6-3.

The Welshman’s reward is a second-round match against defending champion Dave Chisnall, who is looking for his second European Tour championship after winning the inaugural Flanders Darts Trophy a fortnight ago.

Aspinall also advanced to round two with a 6-3 triumph over Krzysztof Ratajski, winning three of the final four legs for his first win since July’s World Matchplay.

The Stockport star has been sidelined for the past two months due to an elbow injury, but after returning to action on the PDC ProTour earlier this week, Aspinall improved his comeback with a strong performance at the MVM Dome.

“I just needed to get a win,” admitted the world number six, who will renew his rivalry with Dutch number two Danny Noppert on Saturday evening.

“I’ve not won a game of darts for two months because I’ve not been playing, so to get a win on my return to the European Tour can only give me confidence.

“I’m going to take a lot of positives from tonight and hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow against Danny.”

Peter Wright was another high-profile winner on Day One in Budapest, hitting back-to-back 12-darters to win 6-5 against Joe Cullen, who was competing in his 100th European Tour event.

Raymond van Barneveld broke Ritchie Edhouse’s flawless first-round record on the European Tour in 2024, winning convincingly 6-3 to strengthen his chances of qualifying for the European Championship.

In other news, Gabriel Clemens will face World Champion Luke Humphries in a high-profile match on Saturday evening, following a dominant 6-1 victory against Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Andrew Gilding won back-to-back European Tour matches against Dimitri Van den Bergh, punishing the Belgian’s poor performance to advance to the second round, where he will face 2018 World Champion Rob Cross.

Luke Woodhouse converted 104, 105, and 124 checkouts in a thrilling match against Scott Williams, only to miss six match darts in the last moments as Williams came from 5-3 down to win.

Another Williams triumphed in Budapest, as Welshman Jim struck 111 and 160 finishes in his 6-1 thrashing of Alan Soutar, securing a second round match against German number one Martin Schindler.

Ten-time TV championship winner James Wade was among the winners on Friday afternoon, coming back from a slow start to defeat Lukas Wenig and advance to a match against sixth seed Josh Rock for a spot in the final 16.

Florian Hempel overcame a 5-2 deficit to overcome Callan Rydz in a tense match, while Niels Zonneveld defeated Sebastian Bialecki in a decisive leg thanks to five 180s.

Martin Lukeman held off Brendan Dolan’s late comeback to claim his first European Tour title of 2024, after Keane Barry defeated Darren Beveridge 6-2 in the tournament’s opener.

Wessel Nijman breezed through to round two with a resounding victory over Host Nation Qualifier Gyorgy Jehirszki, setting up a thrilling clash with 2021 champion Gerwyn Price on Saturday evening.

Cor Dekker overcame his doubles problems to upset Janos Vegso and win his first European Tour match, while Alberto Bezjian kept home hopes alive with a 6-4 victory over fellow Hungarian Andras Csoka.

The second round will be held over two sessions on Saturday, with world number one Humphries, top seed Chisnall, and three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen among the players in action.

2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy

Friday September 20

First Round

Afternoon Session

Keane Barry 6-2 Darren Beveridge

Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki

Wessel Nijman 6-0 Gyorgy Jehirszki

Florian Hempel 6-5 Callan Rydz

Cor Dekker 6-4 Janos Vegso

Martin Lukeman 6-4 Brendan Dolan

Alberto Bezjian 6-4 Andras Csoka

James Wade 6-4 Lukas Wenig

Evening Session

Jim Williams 6-1 Alan Soutar

Scott Williams 6-5 Luke Woodhouse

Gabriel Clemens 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski

Peter Wright 6-5 Joe Cullen

Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse

Andrew Gilding 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael Smith