Michael van Gerwen's nightmare year worsened after losing his opening match at the Swiss Darts Trophy to Mensur Suljovic 6-4 in Basel. Suljovic led 5-2 before Van Gerwen attempted a comeback, but three missed darts to force a decider allowed his opponent to pull away. It marked Suljovic's fourth consecutive win over Van Gerwen and the fifth time in six tournaments the Dutchman exited after one match.
Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, and Jonny Clayton all advanced to Finals Day as ten seeds crashed out. Humphries overcame a scare against Kevin Doets, rallying from 3-0 down to win in a decider. Van Veen whitewashed Niko Springer with a hat-trick of ton-plus checkouts, while Clayton averaged 108.81 and landed two bullseye finishes.
Former champions Stephen Bunting and Martin Schindler were both eliminated. Jeffrey de Graaf defeated Bunting, while Tom Bissell beat Schindler. Dirk van Duijvenbode ended James Wade's title hopes, setting up a last-16 clash with Michael Smith, who averaged nearly 103 in a 6-4 win over Jermaine Wattimena.
Finals Day begins at 11am with quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final starting at 5pm at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing