Van Gerwen knocked out by Heta in Antwerp
Michael van Gerwen is out of the Flanders Darts Trophy after Damon Heta edged a tight second-round clash in Antwerp, with neither player losing a leg against the throw.
Damon Heta beat Michael van Gerwen in a deciding leg of a second-round tie in which neither man was broken; the Australian had ended Beau Greaves' hopes on Friday; Nathan Aspinall averaged just under 106 in a 6-1 rout of Niko Springer
Michael van Gerwen is out of the Flanders Darts Trophy after Damon Heta edged a tight second-round clash in Antwerp, with neither player losing a leg against the throw.
The Australian, who had won the crucial bull-off, held his nerve in the decider to edge out the Dutchman 6-5 and book his place in Sunday's finals day.
It was the second deciding leg Heta had survived in 24 hours.
Heta had also ended Beau Greaves' tournament by the same scoreline on Friday night, with the 22-year-old unable to build on the history she made in Prague last weekend when she became the first woman to win a match on the European Tour.
Nathan Aspinall was the most impressive winner of the evening session, sweeping aside Niko Springer 6-1 with an average just shy of 106. Wessel Nijman then closed out the night in style, opening with a 170 checkout on his way to a 6-4 victory over Sebastian Bialecki to book his place at another European Tour finals day.
Top seed Gian van Veen also progressed, with his 6-3 win over Gabriel Clemens ending the German's hopes of qualifying for the World Grand Prix.
Clemens was not the only casualty in the race for qualification, which concludes in Antwerp.
Flanders Darts Trophy: Latest draw, schedule, results as Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Beau Greaves feature in Antwerp
Luke Littler could be beaten by amateur, claims Phil Taylor as darts legend insists he could also defeat 'The Nuke'
Darts: OUTRAGEOUS walk on! Huybrechts creates havoc in Antwerp
Luke Humphries says opening up about his mental health helped him rise to the top of darts
World Series of Darts Finals: 2026 schedule and results with Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen in action
Stephen Bunting heaps praise on Luke Littler | 'The best in the world...he's changed darts'
Brendan Dolan's hopes were also ended when he was beaten 6-5 by Stephen Bunting on Saturday evening.
Martin Schindler's last-ditch bid unravelled when he averaged 84.67 in a 6-4 defeat to Rob Cross, with the former world champion pouncing after Schindler missed a chance to take out 60.
Elsewhere, Kevin Doets survived a match dart to beat Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 in the pick of the afternoon's ties. The Dutchman led 4-1 before Ratajski won two legs on the spin and pinned double 10 to level at 4-4 and force a decider, where 'Hawkeye' held his nerve.
Danny Noppert, Ryan Searle, Chris Dobey, Ross Smith, Jermaine Wattimena and Luke Woodhouse completed the afternoon's qualifiers, with Dobey dropping just one leg against Niels Zonneveld and Woodhouse accounting for William O'Connor 6-3.
Friday had already claimed Dirk van Duijvenbode, beaten 6-3 by Dolan, and Joe Cullen, who went down 6-3 to Belgian qualifier Andy Baetens. Home favourite Kim Huybrechts also suffered heartbreak, losing a decider to Sebastian Bialecki after a walk-on that whipped up the Antwerp crowd.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Saturday September 12 Round Two Afternoon Session (1200 BST) Kevin Doets 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Karel Sedlacek Rob Cross 6-4 Martin Schindler Danny Noppert 6-2 Chris Landman Ryan Searle 6-2 Andy Baetens Chris Dobey 6-1 Niels Zonneveld Luke Woodhouse 6-3 William O'Connor Ross Smith 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf
Evening Session (1800 BST) Josh Rock 3-6 Ryan Joyce Gerwyn Price 6-3 Bradley Brooks James Wade 6-2 Jim Long Gian van Veen 6-3 Gabriel Clemens Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Damon Heta Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Niko Springer Stephen Bunting 6-5 Brendan Dolan Wessel Nijman 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the World Grand Prix (September 28-October 4), Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 10-January 3) all live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.