Darts results: Michael van Gerwen wins 6-1 despite averaging 88 in round two of the German Darts Open

MVG unpunished en route to round three

Michael van Gerwen averaged less than 90 as he made his entrance at the German Open - but still ran out a 6-1 winner against Dimitri Van den Bergh.

The three-time world champion missed a remarkable 22 darts at double, including six in the second leg which would prove to be the only one he failed to win.

In fact, Mighty Mike missed at least one dart for each and every leg and Van den Bergh will be disappointed not to have been anywhere close enough to punish him.

Perhaps Raymond van Barneveld will do a better job having set up another battle of the Dutch behemoths with a 6-5 victory over Jermaine Wattimena.

It ought to have been more convincing, van Barneveld having led 4-1 and 5-3, but after he'd hit double 18 when needing double four for a 6-4 win, a deciding leg was required.

For much of it, van Barneveld dominated but Wattimena threw a timely 150 to leave 32, piling pressure onto his opponent who had stuttered down to 86.

But van Barneveld conjured the required reserves, hitting double 18 and double 16 to complete a messy victory and earn a clash with his protege.

"I felt so comfortable in the first couple of legs but then Jermaine came back," he said. "I believe in my set-up now, I believe what I can do and I'm really happy to go to the last 16 tomorrow.

"I didn't play many Euro Tours lately but I'm enjoying it and hopefully tomorrow against Michael we'll have a good game."

Dave Chisnall was similarly profligate in beating Ted Evetts 6-3, missing 16 attempts at double, and may need to do better to beat third-round opponent Peter Wright after he averaged 101.79 to beat Steve Lennon 6-2.

Nathan Aspinall finished off a 6-3 defeat of Jonny Clayton with a 13-dart leg as he also averaged over 100, but the performance of the evening came from Rob Cross who averaged 102.44 to beat the dangerous Chris Dobey 6-4.

"It was a topsy-turvy game," said Cross. "I've averaged 102 and didn't feel like I got out of third gear, which is a good thing."

Defending champion Max Hopp was knocked out by John Henderson, who signed off in style with a 160 finish just as Hopp was threatening to get back into the game.

Henderson, who will face Adrian Lewis next, had earlier produced a 140 checkout in a 6-3 win.

"I hit the big scores and the finishes at the right times," said Henderson. "I feel I can play a lot better than that but it's so good to get over the finishing line against a great player like Max.

"He's a lovely lad, a great darts player and has got a super future in front of him. It was a great game to play in and I'm so grateful of getting through."

Mensur Suljovic, the fifth seed, beat Micky Mansell 6-5.

Beaton beaten by rallying Price

Steve Beaton's entertaining weekend at the German Darts Open is over after Gerwyn Price produced a stunning comeback to win 6-5.

On Friday, Beaton started off his bid with a 150 checkout before a throwing 177, 180, 144 for a nine-dart finish in the following leg.

Less than 24 hours later, finishes of 103, 76 and 103 again gave him a 3-1 lead over Price, who levelled at 4-4 only to see Beaton fire in a brilliant 167 on the bullseye.

It seemed that the veteran Beaton was simply not for the beating, until Price produced an 81 finish for a 12-dart leg and then took out 119 on double six to break through and steal victory.

The final game of the afternoon was no less thrilling as James Wade survived six match darts to beat Luke Humphries 6-5.

Humphries appeared to have delivered a knockout punch when he took out 149 to move into a 5-2 lead, and some heavy scoring in the following leg left him 32 with three darts in hand.

But as one by one they fell on the wrong side of the wire, Wade was handed a reprieve which he needed no second invitation to take.

Having won that leg with his one dart at double 10, Wade took the next in 14 darts before levelling - but only after three more missed darts for the match from his opponent.

That was a blow from which Humphries could not recover as Wade dominated the deciding leg to move into the third round by the skin of his teeth.

More from Saturday's afternoon session

Earlier, Dave Pallett paid the price for refusing to go for bullseye and a 170 finish as he was beaten 6-2 by Daryl Gurney.

Already 4-1 down, Pallett hit the first two treble 20s before kidding the crowd into thinking he would go for the so-called big fish, only to switch to leave 32.

But after missing three darts for the leg on his return, Pallett was made to pay as Gurney cruised through.

Jamie Hughes produced some of the most consistent darts of the afternoon despite missing his share of doubles in a 6-4 victory over Simon Whitlock.

A 126 finish was the highlight of Joe Cullen's 6-1 victory over a struggling Jerry Hendriks, while Darren Webster beat Vincent van der Meer 6-3.

Adrian Lewis was also a 6-3 winner over James Richardson.

Saturday's results & order of play

Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)

• Darren Webster 6-3 Vincent van der Meer
• Simon Whitlock 4-6 Jamie Hughes
• Joe Cullen 6-1 Jerry Hendriks
• Daryl Gurney 6-2 David Pallett
• Adrian Lewis 6-3 James Richardson
• Gerwyn Price 6-5 Steve Beaton
• Ian White 6-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
• James Wade 6-5 Luke Humphries

Evening Session (1815 GMT)

• Dave Chisnall 6-3 Ted Evetts
• Jonny Clayton 3-6 Nathan Aspinall
• Rob Cross 6-4 Chris Dobey
• Peter Wright 6-2 Steve Lennon
• Max Hopp 3-6 John Henderson
• Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Mickey Mansell
• Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Jermaine Wattimena v Raymond van Barneveld

Sunday April 28
Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
Third Round (Best of 11 legs)

• Gerwyn Price v Jamie Hughes
• Rob Cross v Joe Cullen
• Adrian Lewis v John Henderson
• Ian White v Darren Webster
• Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
• Mensur Suljovic v Daryl Gurney
• James Wade v Nathan Aspinall
• Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld

Evening Session (1815 GMT)

Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 legs)

Semi-Finals (Best of 13 legs)

Final (Best of 15 legs)

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