Peter Wright dumped out in Dusseldorf by Devon Petersen

Devon Petersen knocked defending European Darts Open champion Peter Wright out of the competition with a 6-5 in Dusseldorf on Saturday.

Wright struggled against 'The Spartan' who got off to a storming start as he raced into a 5-1 lead at the Maritim Hotel.

Wright would begin to show his class though as he hit back to secure the next four legs and take the match into a decider, where Petersen would seal the dramatic win in style with a spectacular 121 checkout and 12-dart leg.

Simon Whitlock has reached the final in Dusseldorf for the past two years and got off to a winning start as he edged out Joe Cullen 6-5. There was never more than a leg between the pair in an evenly-matched encounter before the 'Wizard' held his nerve in the deciding leg to take victory.

There would also be joy for the Dutch trio of Michael van Gerwen, Vincent van der Voort and Jelle Klaasen as they all secured comfortable victories on Saturday evening.

Van Gerwen began his pursuit of a fifth European Tour title in 2015 with a 6-1 win against youngster Jamie Lewis. The world No 1 was not at his best but was rarely troubled as he kicked off with a 108 checkout and breezed to victory with the Welshman registering just one leg in reply.

Van der Voort would also enjoy a simple start to his weekend as he beat youngster Rowby-John Rodriguez with some deadly double hitting. After beginning with a 116 checkout, Van der Voort did not miss another double until the penultimate leg, before regaining his composure to wrap up the win with a 13-darter.

Last weekend's Players Championship winner Klaasen continued his stunning form as he produced another fine display to beat Dave Chisnall 6-1 with a 104.96 average. There was barely time to draw breath in the electrifying encounter as Klaasen wrapped up the win in just ten minutes against Chisnall who averaged 101.74 himself and kicked off with six perfect darts in two legs.

RESULTS

Justin Pipe (10) 6-4 Kevin McDine

Terry Jenkins (12) 6-1 John Henderson

Brendan Dolan (5) 6-2 Mark Walsh

Johnny Haines 6-3 Benito van de Pas (16)

Mark Webster 6-1 Steve Beaton (15)

Mervyn King (9) 6-3 Wes Newton

Robert Thornton (11) 6-5 Dimitri van den Bergh

Alan Norris 6-5 Ian White (8)

Michael Smith (4) 6-4 Mensur Suljovic

James Wade (2) 6-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Kim Huybrechts (13) 6-4 Jyhan Artut

Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 Jamie Lewis

Vincent van der Voort (7) 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez

Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Dave Chisnall (14)

Simon Whitlock (6) 6-5 Joe Cullen

Devon Petersen 6-5 Peter Wright (3)