Littler and Humphries ease into the second round as Rock is dumped out on Day Two of the 2025 European Championship
Littler and Humphries ease into the second round as Rock is dumped out on Day Two of the 2025 European Championship
It was a comfortable evening for the two best players in the world, as Luke Littler and Luke Humphries booked their spots into Saturday’s action with ease. Elsewhere, Josh Rock’s attempt to win his first major title was ended in his opening game.
Day Two in Dortmund
Niko Springer was one of two German players for the crowd to get excited about on Day Two, but his European Championship debut campaign was cut short by last year’s finalist, Jermaine Wattimena, who averaged 107 and hit 6/11 darts at double.
Cameron Menzies was victorious in an all-Scottish affair with two-time World Champion Gary Anderson. Number 21 seed Menzies, reached two Quarter-Finals on the 2025 European Tour and booked his spot in Round Two with a 6-3 victory.
“I can say on my gravestone that I’ve beaten the Scottish legend Gary once in a TV tournament.” stated a high-spirited Menzies, who is now Scotland’s Number Two.
James Wade’s prolific TV form in 2025 continued, as he booked his spot in Saturday evening’s session with a 6-1 win over Mike De Decker. That win sets up a repeat of the World Matchplay and UK Open final, a game against Luke Littler.
Ricardo Pietreczko was able to do what his German counterpart Niko Springer couldn’t do, and that was win in front of the electric Dortmund crowd. Pikachu put in a really strong performance, to stun the highly-fancied Josh Rock by a 6-4 scoreline.
Pietreczko was a Quarter-Finalist in this event last year, and is looking to continue his good record in the European Championship in 2025.
Luke Humphries is in danger of losing his World Number One status this weekend, but he wasn’t going to lose that honour without a fight. The Number 5 seed averaged just shy of 110, whitewashing Krzysztof Ratajski, winning the match in style with a 161 checkout.
World Champion Luke Littler was yet to win a game at the European Championship, after being beaten by Andrew Gilding in Round One last year. Littler continued his quest for the World Number One spot, punishing missed doubles from Raymond van Barneveld to set up an all English affair against James Wade.
Littler made reference to comments made by Martin Schindler in his post-match interview.
“Maybe I was in the wrong, maybe I wasn’t but I just put some on. I was just like, Why’s he mentioning me? And then I put some on.”
Nathan Aspinall is the Number One seed for this years European Championship, having won three European Tours in 2025. The Asp did not however have an easy opening game, as he was drawn against former two-time European Champion Rob Cross.
The man from Stockport reinforced his seeding with his performance, averaging a ton in a 6-1 win, finishing the game off with a cheeky double-double finish.
In the final game of the evening, Danny Noppert was victorious against Dutch counterpart Dirk van Duijvenbode by six legs to three. The Freeze will play Nathan Aspinall on Saturday.
2025 Machineseeker European Championship
Friday October 24 (1900-2300 CEST, 1800-2200 BST)
Round One x8
Niko Springer 3-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Gary Anderson 3-6 Cameron Menzies
James Wade 6-1 Mike De Decker
Josh Rock 4-6 Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Humphries 6-0 Krzysztof Ratajski
Luke Littler 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Rob Cross
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-6 Danny Noppert
Saturday October 25
Afternoon Session (1245-1700 CEST, 1145-1600 BST)
Ryan Searle vs Gian van Veen
Daryl Gurney vs Ross Smith
Martin Schindler vs Ryan Joyce
Chris Dobey vs Michael van Gerwen
