Nathan Aspinall will take on world No 1 Luke Humphries in round two of the Hungarian Darts Trophy while Luke Littler will play Joe Cullen.

Aspinall opened his bid for a third European Tour title of the year with a comprehensive six-leg blitz of Hungarian World Cup star Levente Sarai, sealing the deal with a magical 164 checkout on the bull.

“I’m really happy with that performance,” admitted Aspinall, who finished with an average of 101.33 to set up a showdown with Humphries.

“Every time me and Luke play we have fantastic games, and he’s world No 1 for a reason. He’s a fantastic dart player, but so am I, and I believe I can do the job.”

The Stockport star was one of 16 players to set up round-two ties against the seeded representatives, following a dramatic opening day of action at the MVM Dome.

Cullen and Littler will go head to head in another blockbuster tussle, after 2022 champion Cullen survived three match darts against Lukas Wenig to begin his bid for further glory in Hungary.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” insisted Cullen, also a winner on the PDC ProTour earlier this month.

“Luke is obviously an unbelievable player, but I’ve beaten him this year and on my day I can beat anybody, so bring it on.”

Matthew Dennant will play reigning champion Michael van Gerwen on Saturday evening, having claimed the scalp of 2023 UK Open winner Andrew Gilding in the opening game of the tournament.

Gilding was one of several high-profile casualties on day one in Budapest, as Dutch quartet Gian van Veen, Wessel Nijman, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Jermaine Wattimena all crashed out.

Van Veen averaged almost 106 and landed six 180s in a compelling tie against Niko Springer, although the unflappable German pinned six of his eight attempts at double to celebrate a clinical 6-3 triumph.

Darren Beveridge and Tom Bissell overcame Nijman and Van Duijvenbode respectively to register maiden wins on the European Tour stage, before Wattimena was beaten in a decider by French trailblazer Thibault Tricole.

However, Raymond van Barneveld will renew his rivalry with 2023 champion Dave Chisnall after making a winning start in the Hungarian capital.

The Dutch legend ran out a convincing 6-2 winner against Hungary’s former World Series representative Nandor Major, as he preserved his hopes of qualifying for next month’s World Grand Prix and European Championship.

In the same section of the draw, Richard Veenstra advanced to a meeting with 2021 champion Gerwyn Price, after averaging 97 to complete a 6-3 success against Development Tour leader Cam Crabtree.

Rob Owen produced a terrific display of his own in Budapest, defying a ton-plus average from Ryan Searle to prevail in a last-leg decider and book a clash with Dutch No 2 Danny Noppert on Saturday.

Luke Woodhouse will take on fifth-seed James Wade after surviving a scare against home favourite Andras Borbely, who produced a spectacular 170 checkout in his 6-4 defeat to the Bewdley-born star.

Ryan Joyce also excelled in the finishing department, landing two ton-plus checkouts during his 6-2 win over European champion Ritchie Edhouse to set up a showdown against Germany’s Martin Schindler.

Schindler’s compatriot Ricardo Pietreczko will lock horns with an in-form Josh Rock following his crushing 6-1 victory over Jim Williams, which culminated with a majestic 146 checkout.

World Cup champion Daryl Gurney produced a show-stopping 140 finish to dispatch Leon Weber by the same scoreline, and he will now go head to head with Rob Cross in one of Saturday’s stand-out encounters.

Kim Huybrechts swept aside Danish debutant Andreas Hyllgaardhus, while Cameron Menzies returned to winning ways courtesy of an emphatic 6-1 victory over Hungary’s Nandor Pres.

2025 Hungarian Darts Trophy schedule and results

Friday September 19
Round One
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Matthew Dennant 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Nandor Pres
Ryan Joyce 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-1 Jim Williams
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Andreas Hyllgaardhus
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Andras Borbely
Darren Beveridge 6-2 Wessel Nijman
Tom Bissell 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Evening Session
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Thibault Tricole
Ryan Searle 6-5 Rob Owen
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Leon Weber
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Nandor Major
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Cam Crabtree
Joe Cullen 6-5 Lukas Wenig
Gian van Veen 3-6 Niko Springer
Nathan Aspinall 6-0 Levente Sarai

Saturday September 20
Round Two
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Martin Schindler vs Ryan Joyce
Ross Smith vs Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert vs Rob Owen
Chris Dobey vs Darren Beveridge
Rob Cross vs Daryl Gurney
James Wade vs Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright vs Kim Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall vs Raymond van Barneveld

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Damon Heta vs Niko Springer
Gerwyn Price vs Richard Veenstra
Michael van Gerwen vs Matthew Dennant
Luke Littler vs Joe Cullen
Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall
Stephen Bunting vs Thibault Tricole
Josh Rock vs Ricardo Pietreczko
Mike De Decker vs Tom Bissell

Sunday September 21
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Round Three

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final

What’s next on Sky Sports?

The 2025 BoyleSports World Grand Prix will take place at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester, from October 6-12, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete in one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments.

Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries are set to be joined by world champion Luke Littler in headlining this year’s field.

Mike De Decker sensationally stormed to his first Premier Event title at last year’s event.

Sky Sports will once again be the home of the World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW