The opening session of the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich on Saturday afternoon produced a series of major surprises, headlined by a seismic 6-3 upset for Patrick Kovacs over former Masters champion Joe Cullen. Cullen, who had reached a Pro Tour final in Leicester earlier in the week, started by pinning double 16 and later broke with double 10, but Kovacs reeled him in after some poor legs from 'The Rockstar'. At 3-3, Kovacs took out a remarkable 50 outshot, missing the big number twice before nailing double 13 to break and lead for the first time. He then sealed his first Euro Tour win at the eighth attempt, dropping to the floor as his ecstatic fanbase celebrated, becoming the first Hungarian to win a Euro Tour match outside of Hungary.
Cameron Menzies' hopes for the World Matchplay and World Cup of Darts took a damaging blow in a 6-4 defeat to Karel Sedlacek. Menzies' doubling was wobbly early on; he eventually nailed double two and broke more convincingly, but missed chances meant he could have been 4-0 up. Sedlacek rode his luck to level, and after Menzies escaped a scare with double five, the Scot had only nailed three of 16 attempts at double. Menzies looked to break with a 116 checkout, but Sedlacek found the bull for a 127 checkout. Sedlacek then moved within one of the match and got the job done, with Menzies succumbing to a painful loss after 19 missed doubles.
European Darts Trophy champion Wessel Nijman lost 6-4 to former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding in a poor showing. Gilding broke to lead 2-0, expertly finding double four with his last dart, and by that stage had 11 darts at the outer ring compared to Nijman's one at the bull. Nijman got a leg on the board but his scoring was lacking. Gilding's level also wasn't high, and Nijman broke back with back-to-back double 18s to level at 4-4. A hold of throw moved Gilding within one, before a phenomenal 140 checkout with two double 20s advanced him in style, taking down a huge title contender.
In other matches, Niels Zonneveld continued his fine Euro Tour form with a 6-3 win over debutant Adam Lipscombe. The pair traded breaks early before Zonneveld went ahead; Lipscombe levelled and secured the first hold, but Zonneveld—who had defeated Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen in recent weeks—got back level. Lipscombe almost produced a 141 outshot, dragging his dart just into double nine, and Zonneveld kept his cool for a definitive break, showing maturity to see it out in style. Ritchie Edhouse overcame a slow start to fend off Kevin Troppmann 6-3 in a high-quality match; the first leg was a 22-darter, but from the second leg onwards no leg finished lower than 15 darts. Edhouse got the crucial break on double 16 and saw it out for his first Euro Tour win since the 2025 Swiss Darts Trophy.
Krzysztof Ratajski prevailed 6-3 over Thomas Lovely despite being sloppy at times. Lovely held in 13-darts before Ratajski replied with a 12-darter, and the key leg was a break that proved pivotal as the only leg won against throw in the match. Lovely missed chances, and Ratajski, also missing on the outer ring, hit his target at the right times, almost winning with a 156 but completing the job on double four. William O'Connor finished in style with a 6-2 win over Sebastian Bialecki, a very complete performance. After both missed early break chances, O'Connor moved 3-1 ahead with a dart into double eight. Bialecki broke back instantly, but O'Connor confirmed a third consecutive break, capitalised with a 116 checkout, and flexed his muscles with a show-stopping 170 checkout to complete the match. Ryan Joyce was clinical in a 6-1 win over Finn Behrens, commencing with a 164 outshot after O'Connor's 170. Behrens wasted his first chance for a Euro Tour leg as Joyce took out 85 in two on double 14, but avoided a second 6-0 Euro Tour loss by surviving missed attempts from Joyce to break new ground at the 11th time of asking. Joyce then moved one away with a picture-perfect shot at the bull and sailed through convincingly.
