Stephen Bunting suffered a shock 6-4 loss to Matt Campbell in the second round of the Elten Safety Shoes Austrian Darts Open.
The loss comes on the heels of a disappointing homecoming night for Bunting in the Premier League in Liverpool, ‘The Bullet’ being handed a demolishing by Cross.
Ten years on from his 7-1 defeat to Phil Taylor in the same venue in his first stint as a Premier League player, Bunting was smashed 6-1, Cross averaging 100 with 6/8 on the doubles.
Victor Campbell will now take on Dirk van Duijvenbode who cruised past Gian van Veen in the second round with a 108 average and seven 180s.
In another big result, Jermaine Wattimena came through with a 6-3 over top seed Jonny Clayton.
Former world champion Peter Wright put in a comprehensive 6-3 win over Luke Woodhouse, while ‘Hollywood’ Chris Dobey put in a 6-1 demolition of Ricardo Pietreczko.
Kevin Doets made his mark with a 6-2 crushing of Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert averaging almost 101 to defeat Niko Springer to pick up what is his first victory on the European Tour in 2025.
Last year’s runner-up Joe Cullen started his tournament with a 6-2 win against Thibault Tricole and Josh Rock is also through to Sunday’s action after the Northern Irishman averaged 105, landed eight 180s and converted a 157 checkout to secure the win over Krzysztof Ratajski.
Dave Chisnall also picked up a 6-3 win over Ian White.
The action continues on Sunday with highlight clashes including Noppert vs Rock, Dobey vs Nijman, and Heta vs Cullen in the third round.
The evening session will then work through the quarter and semi-finals until an eventual winner is crowned.
World No 3 Michael van Gerwen, reigning world champion Luke Littler and world No 1 Luke Humphries are among the big names to sit out of the event.
Sunday April 27
Third Round
Afternoon Session (12pm UK time)
Jermaine Wattimena v Daryl Gurney
Danny Noppert v Josh Rock
Kevin Doets v Martin Schindler
Chris Dobey v Wessel Nijman
Matt Campbell v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Peter Wright v Ross Smith
Damon Heta v Joe Cullen
Dave Chisnall v Ryan Joyce
Evening Session (6pm UK time)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Where does the Premier League head next?
The Premier League continues at the Utilita Arena, Birmingham on Thursday, May 1 as Luke Littler takes on Stephen Bunting, while Luke Humphries faces Gerwyn Price. Watch Night 13 of Premier League Darts, in Birmingham, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action from 7pm – stream with NOW.
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League in 2025, with every night exclusively live along with the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
