Littler reaches second round as Van Gerwen eliminated at European Championship

Luke Littler beat William O'Connor 6-3 to reach the second round of the European Championship in Dortmund on 23 October 2026, while Michael van Gerwen was knocked out at the first-round stage.

Littler, the world number one and 19 years old, recorded six 180s and a three-dart average of 105 in the best-of-11 match, his first contest since a surprise semi-final defeat at the World Youth Championship in early October. "Obviously, [I've played] a few exhibitions, but yeah, just obviously been chilling out, practicing, and this is the one I really want," said Littler, 19. "I've just got to take it one game at a time, and obviously it's the last one missing, so I can't be putting too much pressure on myself. I'm just happy to get back on stage and do my job."

Michael van Gerwen, 37, fell 5-1 behind against fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets and was beaten 6-3, ending his campaign at the opening stage of the competition. Doets, 28, will meet Krzysztof Ratajski in the last 16 after Ratajski defeated Dave Chisnall 6-2.

Nathan Aspinall defeated Cristo Reyes 6-3 to advance and is scheduled to face Littler in Dortmund in the next round as Littler pursues a European Championship title that would complete his set of major trophies. Aspinall's victory confirmed the pairing for the second round.

Jonny Clayton won 6-3 against Niko Springer and Josh Rock beat Chris Dobey 6-1; the winners are drawn to play each other in the following round. Both results completed their respective first-round ties and set up a last-16 clash between Clayton and Rock.

Martin Schindler advanced after a deciding leg, edging Wessel Nijman 6-5, and will face Jermaine Wattimena, who overcame England's Ryan Joyce 6-3. Those outcomes finalised another section of the last-16 draw.

Humphries has withdrawn from the European Championship.

The confirmed last-16 fixtures include Luke Littler versus Nathan Aspinall in Dortmund, Kevin Doets against Krzysztof Ratajski, Martin Schindler versus Jermaine Wattimena, and Jonny Clayton facing Josh Rock.