Michael van Gerwen came back from 5-4 to beat Darius Labanauskas on day one of the Nordic Darts Masters.

The former world number one was pushed all the way, but produced the comeback to advance to the quarter finals.

Elsewhere, the other big story saw Nathan Aspinall become the only PDC representative to be knocked out. He lost 6-4 to Madars Razma, as the Latvian booked a showdown with MvG in the last eight.

Nordic Darts Masters
Michael van Gerwen made the quarter finals of the Nordic Darts Masters, despite falling behind to Darius Labanauskas. Credit: Mikal Schlosser/PDC

Van Gerwen produces under pressure

Both held in the opening two legs, with Labanauskas producing a 116 outshot to level. 35 darts later, Van Gerwen was 3-1 in front, before he missed double 18 to go 4-1 ahead. Lucky D, who hit a 165 the previous visit to leave 24, pinged double 12 to break immediately back.

Three holds followed, before Van Gerwen squandered five darts at double to move 5-4 ahead. Labanuskas then pinged tops to go within one of the match, but that was as close as he’d get to beating him for the first time. A 13 dart break, followed by a 15 dart hold, saw the Dutchman get over the line.

Madars Razma celebrates a huge win against Nathan Aspinall. Credit: Mikal Schlosser/PDC

He’ll meet Razma in the last eight tomorrow, after the Latvian produced a good performance to beat Aspinall. Both held in the first two legs, before 13 and 12 dart legs from Razma saw him go 3-1 ahead.

The Asp managed to break back immediately as both players missed darts to take the fifth leg, before levelling up at 3-3 with a 78 outshot. However, after Razma held once more, The Asp missed three darts to equalise again. The Latvian eventually hit double 16 to go within one of the match.

Aspinall did break in the next leg, but after missing five match darts in the ninth leg, Razma eventually got over the line, hitting double eight to claim the 6-4 victory.

Price and Sherrock set up quarter final

Despite admitting afterwards that he has an injury to his elbow, Gerwyn Price beat Daniel Larsson to win.

Both broke each other’s throw to start, before a 128 checkout from Price saw the first hold. Two further holds followed, but a 60 outshot from the world number one got him two legs clear. Both held again, before Price hit double five to win.

However, he confirmed in an interview with Online Darts that he will withdraw from the tournament.

It means that Fallon Sherrock will receive a bye through to the semi finals. She marked her return to the World Series stage with a 6-1 win over Denmark’s Niels Heinsoe.

A 104 shot from the Dane saw him take the opening leg, but that was as good as his night got. Six straight legs from The Queen of the Palace, including a 25 dart leg which saw both players miss multiple darts to win it, gave her a comfortable victory. Sherrock ended the match with a 13 dart break on double 18.

Nordic Darts Masters
Fallon Sherrock receives a bye into the semi finals. Credit: Mikal Schlosser/PDC

What else happened on day one of the Nordic Darts Masters?

One half of Scotland’s World Cup winning team Peter Wright beat Marko Kantele 6-1. Despite not hitting a maximum, Snakebite cruised past his opponent, eventually hitting double 10 to win the match.

Peter Wright will face Jonny Clayton in the last eight. Credit: Mikal Schlosser/PDC

He’ll face Premier League champion Jonny Clayton in the last eight, as The Ferret won the second match of the night. He hit the highest average of the first day too, averaging 99.10 in a 6-0 whitewash over Ivan Springborg Poulsen.

Jonny Clayton celebrates his win with the crowd in Copenhagen. Credit: Mikal Schlosser/PDC

The final last eight contest will see a rematch of the 2020 World Matchplay Final. Dimitri Van den Bergh beat Johan Engstrom 6-4, while Gary Anderson came through 6-3 against Andreas Toft Jorgensen.

Nordic Darts Masters Day One Results

Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 Johan Engström

Jonny Clayton 6-0 Ivan Springborg Poulsen

Madars Razma 6-4 Nathan Aspinall

Gerwyn Price 6-3 Daniel Larsson

Gary Anderson 6-3 Andreas Toft Jørgensen

Fallon Sherrock 6-1 Niels Heinsøe

Peter Wright 6-1 Marko Kantele

Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Darius Labanauskas

Nordic Darts Masters Day Two Schedule of Play

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Quarter-Finals

Gerwyn Price v Fallon Sherrock

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Gary Anderson

Peter Wright v Jonny Clayton

Michael Van Gerwen v Madars Razma

Evening Session (2000 local time, 1900 BST)

Semi-Finals & Final

Format

First Round Best of 11 legs

Quarter-Finals Best of 19 legs

Semi-Finals Best of 21 legs

Final Best of 21 legs