European Championship Darts: Luke Woodhouse hits nine-darter and sets up second-round clash with defending champion Gian van Veen

Luke Woodhouse sent the Dortmund crowd wild as he hit a nine-darter on the way to a 6-3 victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode in round one of the European Championship.

The perfect nine for Woodhouse came in the fourth leg and against the throw, two 180s being followed by a T20, T19, then accurate D12 to finish it off.

Woodhouse managed to recompose himself immediately and from there held his throw well before finishing off the contest with a bullseye finish.

• Darts in 2026: Key dates, calendar, results 📅
• Got Sky? Watch on the Sky Sports app 📱
• Not got Sky? Get instant access with NOW 📺

He will now face Gian van Veen after the defending champion battled hard to a 6-4 win against Andrew Gilding.

"It felt really good," Woodhouse told ITV Sport.

"I had a chance at the Worlds and that didn't go very well.

"I know it is a cliché, but the important thing is the win, so I tried to keep myself calm and crack on with the game.

"I am feeling really good at the moment, I have had a very good year. I didn't want to be one of those people who hit a nine-darter then lost the game."

Van Veen had a tougher night than his round two opponent as he came up against a high-scoring Gilding who was hitting maximums for fun.

The Dutchman held his throw in the ninth leg and then came up with the crucial break of throw on D8 for the match and the chance to continue to defend his title and become the first back-to-back winner since 2018.

Gerwyn Price dispatched two-time champion Rob Cross with a strong 6-2 showing in a battle of former world champions.

The Welshman reeled off four legs in a row from 1-1 before Cross could hit back, a 127 checkout on the bull in the first leg and a 135 finish in the last bookending a stellar showing.

He will now face Cameron Menzies who was clinical in a 6-3 victory over the in-form fourth seed Neils Zonneveld.

The Scotsman found three big breaks of throw that gave him breathing room and with 87 for the match, he held his nerve to take out the bullseye for his spot in the second round.

Elsewhere, top seed Ross Smith survived a scare to pull off a 6-4 victory over Karel Sedlacek.

Once the scores were level at 1-1, it was a game of breaks of throw as both players scored well but struggled on the doubles.

That was the undoing of both players and in a nervy 10th leg, Smith was the one who eventually landed the final dart in D2 for the first hold of throw since the second leg.

In the second round he will play Damon Heta after the Australian pulled off a nervy 6-5 win over 2018 European Champion James Wade to make it through to the second round of the European Championship.

It looked as though Wade had the match in his grasp when he moved 5-3 ahead with a massive 103 checkout on D16.

However, Heta rallied and took the next three legs in a row, shaky finishing from both players seeing him eventually clinch the game on D4.

Meanwhile, Stephen Bunting came up with a clutch 160 finish to win a last-leg thriller against Danny Noppert.

Neither player could take control of the contest and with the game poised at 5-5 all and the throw in his favour, Noppert was waiting to return on for 40 for the win when Bunting showed his class with the stunning T20, T20, then D20 checkout.

Next up, he will face Kim Huybrechts after he reeled off six legs in a row in a brilliant 6-1 demolition of Ryan Searle.

Huybrechts was a late replacement for Luke Humphries who had to withdraw due to illness, but his rushed three-hour drive did not show as he scored with ease, averaged 103.81, and did not allow Searle to get back into the contest.

Thursday October 22: Results

Round One x8
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Danny Noppert 5-6 Stephen Bunting
Niels Zonneveld 3-6 Cameron Menzies
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Rob Cross
James Wade 5-6 Damon Heta
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Ryan Searle
Gian van Veen 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Ross Smith 6-4 Karel Sedlacek

Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3) all live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: European Championship Darts: Luke Woodhouse hits nine-darter and sets up second-round clash with defending champion Gian van Veen