Williams stars as the seeds dominated in Munich

As Day One of the 2025 Elten Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix drew to an end in Munich on Saturday, home favourites Ricardo Pietreckzo and Martin Schindler had outstanding starts.

Pietreczko opened the evening session in the Bavarian city with a fantastic 106 average, easily defeating Adam Paxton, who was making his debut. Schindler, to the pleasure of the boisterous home crowd, was also excellent, averaging 103 in his 6-3 victory over Mario Vandenbogaerde.

After setting the stage with a spectacular 171 to complete an incredible last leg, Dirk van Duijvenbode hit a show-stopping 132 checkout to win his 6-1 triumph over Andy Boulton. The Dutchman pinned the treble 20 and two double 18s.

More outstanding match-winning finishing occurred when Krzysztof Ratajski defeated Mensur Suljovic with a 129 checkout after the Austrian rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force a final.

In a battle of the elder statesmen, 57-year-old Raymond van Barneveld defeated Michael Rosenauer of Germany, a man a year his senior, 6-3 to earn a spot in the second round.

Rene Eidams and Michael Unterbuchner both collapsed at the hands of Gian van Veen and Jermaine Wattimena, respectively, causing more German disillusionment.

Kim Huybrechts’ 6-0 triumph over Finn Behrens in the afternoon session was the highlight of the day. He put on one of his best performances, average just under 105 and hitting 164 checkout the route to victory.

On Sunday night, the Belgian will face Dutch sensation Michael van Gerwen in an attempt to advance to the round of 16.

Scott Williams defeated Wessel Nijman in a highly interesting match, even though he appeared to try to knock out 60 with the double five and the bullseye in the strange final leg.

In the end, it didn’t matter since he won 6-4 to set up a matchup with Josh Rock in one of the best second-round matches.

In other news, Cameron Menzies maintained his excellent play by defeating Kevin Doets 6-4, Niels Zonneveld overcame Daryl Gurney’s 100 average to enjoy a 6-3 victory, and Cam Crabtree defeated Luke Woodhouse in a last-leg decider.

In their respective first-round matches, Ritchie Edhouse, Robert Grundy, and Andras Borbely were defeated by Mickey Mansell, Madars Razma, and Ryan Joyce.

The seeded players get ready to compete in the 2025 German Darts Grand Prix, which resumes with another double session in Munich on Sunday.

In the afternoon session, former world champions Rob Cross and Michael Smith will play Pietreczko and Ratajski, respectively, while Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price, and Luke Littler will be among those in the evening session.

Williams stars as the seeds dominated in Munich 

Saturday April 19th  First Round Afternoon Session

Ryan Joyce 6-1 Andras Borbely

Mickey Mansell 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse

Madars Razma 6-3 Robert Grundy

Cam Crabtree 6-5 Luke Woodhouse

Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Daryl Gurney

Scott Williams 6-4 Wessel Nijman

Kim Huybrechts 6-0 Finn Behrens

Cameron Menzies 6-4 Kevin Doets

Evening Session

Ricardo Pietreczko 6-1 Adam Paxton

Gian van Veen 6-2 Rene Eidams

Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Mensur Suljovic

Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Michael Rosenauer

Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Michael Unterbuchner

Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Andy Boulton

Martin Schindler 6-3 Mario Vandenbogaerde

Mike De Decker 6-3 Johan Engstrom

Sunday April 20

Second Round

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Danny Noppert v Madars Razma

Damon Heta v Ryan Joyce

Andrew Gilding v Gian Van Veen

Ryan Searle v Cameron Menzies

Josh Rock v Scott Williams

Rob Cross v Ricardo Pietreczko

Michael Smith v Krzysztof Ratajski

Joe Cullen v Mickey Mansell

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

James Wade v Niels Zonneveld

Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld

Dave Chisnall v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Michael van Gerwen v Kim Huybrechts

Luke Littler v Cam Crabtree

Peter Wright v Mike De Decker

Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler

Ross Smith v Jermaine Wattimena