Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price advance to next round of World Series of Darts Finals as Peter Wright suffers early exit

Former champions Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price had completely contrasting opening round games at the World Series of Darts Finals, but both came out on top in the second session of round one matches in Amsterdam.

The Nuke faced former World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock, who kept Littler on his toes in the early stages, holding comfortably. He was unable to make a dent on Littler's throw, as The Nuke kept on par with his opponent. Whitlock went 3-2 ahead after taking out 89 on double five, but was once again pinned back by Littler, who levelled the score at 3-3. The Aussie took out 70 in two whilst Littler was on 32, and looked to have an opening when he got down to double 19. He was prevented from having a shot at it, with the Englishman taking out a clutch 120 checkout to spark an eighth consecutive hold of throw.

The following leg Littler took command, pinning double 18 twice to finally break the stubborn Whitlock throw. The Wizard almost managed to cast some magic to stay in the match, but failed to convert his two chances on the outer ring to force a last-leg decider, with Littler finding his favourite double 10 to survive a scare and advance.

It was a lot more routine for Price, who was almost flawless in his win over Danny Lauby. He shot into a 3-0 lead, finding his range on tops early on. He almost went 2-0 ahead through what would have been a showstopping 164 checkout, but could not find the bull.

72 was taken out in two before the double 20 bed was utilised to go one away. He looked on for the whitewash, but missed six match darts, which allowed the American to get a leg on the board. The Welshman confirmed victory in the next leg and will return tonight in round two.

Wright and Aspinall depart early on

Peter Wright exits round one for the first time at the World Series of Darts Finals with a 6-3 defeat against fellow Scot Cameron Menzies. He fell 3-0 behind before finding a promising period of form to level up, but a magnificent 140 checkout from Cammy sent him on the road to victory.

He will face Chris Dobey, who breezed through with a controlled 6-2 victory over Luke Woodhouse. Woody never fully got going, struggling with many trebleless visits, which allowed Hollywood to edge ahead in many legs and comfortably take them. He took a highest checkout of 116 to put him one away before finding tops to see him come out on top.

Ross Smith survived a sketchy match against Jonny Tata, being saved by his trademark maximum hitting to complete a comeback win. It was also a lucky escape for home-favourite Raymond van Barneveld, who escaped six match darts from Cor Dekker to edge a last-leg decider to advance. A 156 checkout halfway through the match was a key moment, keeping the tie-on throw and sending the crowd mad.

Jonny Clayton completed the only whitewash of the opening round, dumping out debutant Jason Brandon with little fuss. The American could not get close to the rampant Ferret, who took out 136 to go 2-0 up, and continued on similarly throughout to keep his opponent at arm's length, averaging over a ton. The final match of the afternoon was topped by a phenomenal 160 checkout by Dave Chisnall to knock out Nathan Aspinall. The pair traded early breaks of throw before Chizzy raced ahead, winning the last four legs to progress against the 2023 finalist.