Michael van Gerwen will meet Michael Smith in the last 16 of the 2020 Belgian Darts Championship, as host nation hopes were ended in Hasselt on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Both Van Gerwen and Smith saw off Belgian opponents to set up Sunday afternoon’s exciting opening third round match.<\/p>\n

World number one van Gerwen missed double 12 for a nine-darter in the final leg of his 6-3 victory over Mike De Decker, while Smith enjoyed a 6-1 win against Ronny Huybrechts.<\/p>\n

Belgian number one Dimitri Van Den Bergh came the closest out of his countrymen to reaching the final day but lost out 6-5 to Jamie Hughes, while Kim Huybrechts was beaten 6-4 by Dutch ace Jeffrey de Zwaan.<\/p>\n

Danny Noppert produced the performance of the second round as he averaged 108.96 in a 6-2 success over fellow Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena. <\/p>\n

Noppert hit five 180s in an outstanding display to reach the last 16, where he will meet World Champion Peter Wright.<\/p>\n

Wright was below his best but was untroubled by Andy Hamilton as the Scotsman went on to complete a comfortable 6-2 win. <\/p>\n

Noppert’s fellow Dutch talents Dirk van Duijvenbode and Martijn Kleermaker also progressed to the final day with victories against seeded opposition. <\/p>\n

Van Duijvenbode moved into the last 16 of a European Tour event for the first time after defeating number two seed Ian White 6-3, while Kleermaker reached the third round stage on his first attempt with a 6-3 success over Joe Cullen. <\/p>\n

Kleermaker’s last 16 opponent will be Mervyn King, who produced a stunning performance to defeat number eight seed Glen Durrant 6-4 with an average of 105.98.<\/p>\n

Mensur Suljovic defeated Ryan Searle 6-4 in an entertaining encounter, which saw the pair share four three-figure finishes – including checkouts of 170 and 145 by Searle despite defeat. <\/p>\n

Steve West will face Suljovic on Sunday after defying a 104.14 average from Jonny Clayton in a 6-2 success over the Welshman. <\/p>\n

Gerwyn Price made light work of Dutch qualifier Wesley Plaisier, who completed a fabulous 154 checkout in the only leg he won against the world number three. <\/p>\n

Polish star Krzysztof Ratajski kicked off his 2020 European Tour campaign with a 6-2 triumph over Germany’s Gabriel Clemens.<\/p>\n

Ratajski will take on Rob Cross in round three after the 2019 European Champion eased past Australia’s Damon Heta 6-1.<\/p>\n

James Wade defeated Steve Lennon 6-3 to set up a third round clash with Nathan Aspinall, who produced a pivotal 167 checkout in a 6-3 victory over Steve Beaton. <\/p>\n

The Belgian Darts Championship concludes with two sessions on Sunday March 1, with live streaming on PDCTV, as well as through a series of bookmakers’ websites worldwide.<\/p>\n

Sunday afternoon will see the remaining 16 players battle it out for places in the evening session, which hosts the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final -where the winner will earn \u00a325,000. <\/p>\n

2020 Belgian Darts Championship
\nSaturday February 29
\nSecond Round
\nAfternoon Session
\nMichael Smith 6-1 Ronny Huybrechts
\nMartijn Kleermaker 6-3 Joe Cullen
\nKrzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
\nMervyn King 6-4 Glen Durrant
\nRob Cross 6-1 Damon Heta
\nDirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Ian White
\nDanny Noppert 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
\nJames Wade 6-3 Steve Lennon<\/p>\n

Evening Session
\nNathan Aspinall 6-3 Steve Beaton
\nGerwyn Price 6-1 Wesley Plaisier
\nPeter Wright 6-2 Andy Hamilton
\nMichael van Gerwen 6-3 Mike De Decker
\nJeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
\nJamie Hughes 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
\nMensur Suljovic 6-4 Ryan Searle
\nSteve West 6-2 Jonny Clayton <\/p>\n

Sunday March 1
\nAfternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
\nThird Round
\nMichael van Gerwen v Michael Smith
\nMervyn King v Martijn Kleermaker
\nPeter Wright v Danny Noppert
\nKrzysztof Ratajski v Rob Cross
\nDirk van Duijvenbode v Jeffrey de Zwaan
\nJames Wade v Nathan Aspinall
\nGerwyn Price v Jamie Hughes
\nMensur Suljovic v Steve West<\/p>\n

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
\nQuarter-Finals
\nSemi-Finals
\nFinal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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