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Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Vincent van der Voort and Co Stompe all delighted their home crowd with victories in the first round of the Dutch Darts Masters on Friday.

Mervyn King, Andy Jenkins, Paul Nicholson, Simon Whitlock, James Hubbard and Arron Monk all also progressed to the last 32 of the PDC’s fifth and final European Tour event of the year in Nuland.

van Gerwen, who won his first PDC major title at the World Grand Prix a fortnight ago, enjoyed a 6-4 triumph over Peter Hudson.

The world number eight will face Paul Nicholson on Saturday after ‘The Asset’ saw off Ross Smith 6-3.

“It was a difficult game because this is my first tournament in Holland for a year and there was a bit more pressure than normal on me,”  van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website.

“I wasn’t nervous but I wanted to show everyone in Holland what I can do and how well I’ve been playing in the last few weeks.

“I’m happy to win the game but it wasn’t easy because Peter is a good player. I wasn’t brilliant in every leg, but a win is a win and I’m looking forward to playing against Paul.

“I know him very well and he’s a very good guy, but tomorrow he’s my enemy! If I can go all the way and win this weekend too it would be fantastic and my confidence is high at the moment but I will just play my game and take each game one at a time.”

van Barneveld came back from 3-1 down to record a 6-3 victory against Mick Todd.

The five-time World Champion will take on Johnny Haines on Saturday evening.

van der Voort faces Monk after the ‘Dutch Destroyer’ whitewashed Bernd Roith, while Monk claimed an impressive triumph over John Part, defeating the three-time World Champion 6-4.

Stompe set up a second round clash against world number one Phil Taylor, after a 6-2 win against Terry Temple on Friday afternoon.

King, who will play Ian White on Saturday, stormed past Ronny Huybrechts with a 6-1 victory, while Jenkins claimed a notable success over Justin Pipe, beating the world number eleven 6-2.

‘Rocky’ will face Hubbard in the last 32, after the World Youth Champion defeated Denis Ovens by the same scoreline.

European Champion Whitlock was a 6-4 victor against Denmark’s Per Laursen. ‘The Wizard’ faces Alan Tabern in the second round.

Saturday sees round two take place over two sessions, as the field chasing the £15,000 first prize is reduced to 16.

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC