Michael van Gerwen lost his second-round match at the Dutch Darts Championship to William O'Connor, extending a poor streak that has defined his 2026 season.
O'Connor defeated van Gerwen 6-5 on Saturday in Maastricht. According to Sky Sports, van Gerwen has now lost his opening match at four European Tour events this season. the European Darts Trophy, German Darts Grand Prix, Flanders Darts Trophy and Swiss Darts Trophy. Sky Sports reports this marks his most first-round exits in a single season since the tour began in 2012.
O'Connor produced three ton-plus checkouts of 136, 131 and 121 to advance to round three.
Gian van Veen set a European Tour record average in his round-two victory. Van Veen averaged 120.24 in a 6-0 whitewash of Sebastian Bialecki, breaking the previous record of 118.66 held by Dave Chisnall.
Gerwyn Price returned to competition and defeated Scott Williams 6-3. Stephen Bunting secured qualification for the European Championships with a 6-2 win over Cameron Menzies. Bunting pinned six of ten attempts at the outer ring. Nathan Aspinall beat Michael Smith 6-1, with Aspinall averaging over 102. Martin Schindler also qualified for the European Championships, defeating Karel Sedlacek 6-4.
Danny Noppert defeated Dave Chisnall 6-4. Wessel Nijman beat Jeffrey De Graaf 6-3. Niels Zonneveld edged Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 in a last-leg decider, hitting seven maximums. Jermaine Wattimena progressed 6-2 over Jimmy van Schie.
Ross Smith, the European Tour ranking leader, beat Ryan Joyce and Dirk van Duijvenbode to reach round three against Ryan Searle. Damon Heta averaged over 103 in a 6-1 victory over Jonny Clayton. Luke Woodhouse beat Andrew Gilding 6-1. Cristo Reyes closed Saturday's action with a 6-2 win over Chris Dobey while converting 60 percent of double attempts.
The final 16 players compete Sunday in round three and knockout stages in Maastricht.