Keane Barry was on the receiving end of a 6-1 rout at the hands of former world champion Gerywn Price on the opening night of the Machineseeker European Championship in Dortmund.
Price breezed past the Meath native in 12 minutes, pinning six of his 11 darts at double. Barry lost the throw as he went 2-0 down in the first-to-six clash, but managed to win it back in the third leg.
That would be as good as it got for the 21-year-old though, as Price won the final three legs to take his place in the second round.
Peter Wright produced a monumental fightback to stun Gabriel Clemens, who delighted the partisan Dortmund crowd by racing into a 4-1 lead with a 102 average.
However, a mid-game change of darts sparked Wright into life, as the Scot – aided by a 116 finish in leg seven – levelled the contest at four apiece, before the pair exchanged holds to force a last-leg shoot-out.
The opening night of the £600,000 [€689,000] event saw eight first-round matches take place at the Westfalenhalle, with world number one Michael Smith also impressing to set up a blockbuster second-round clash against Wright.
The 33-year-old demolished Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 in his opener, as the five-time world champion was blown away in his first European Championship appearance since 2015.
Smith won the game's first two legs before Van Barneveld halved the deficit in 13 darts, although consecutive finishes of 107 and 86 midway through the tie broke the Dutchman’s resistance.
Stephen Bunting also progressed by the same 6-1 scoreline, dispatching Clemens’ World Cup of Darts partner Martin Schindler with a 101 average.
Bunting delivered a stellar display to avenge his defeat to Schindler at the World Grand Prix, firing in three 180s, landing 121 and 104 checkouts and pinning six of his eight attempts at double.
However, top seed Dave Chisnall was unable to progress in Dortmund, as Masters champion Chris Dobey reeled off six straight legs from 2-0 down to claim victory.
Chisnall squandered four darts for a 3-0 lead and was ruthlessly punished by Dobey, who produced 138 and 116 checkouts either side of a 12-darter in the latter stages.
Danny Noppert produced the performance of the night in the tournament's curtain-raiser, averaging 106 to whitewash Andrew Gilding in a battle between the most recent UK Open champions.
The Dutchman delivered a masterclass in combination finishing to book his place in round two, converting 90, 138, 81, 98, 89 and 64 checkouts to cap off a flawless display.
Two-time European champion Rob Cross brushed aside Belgium’s Dimitri Van den Bergh in emphatic style, averaging 99 and powering in a 127 finish on his way to a 6-2 success.
World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall also impressed in his 6-3 victory against Ryan Searle, conjuring up 120 and 145 finishes to set up a tantalising last 16 showdown against Price.
The first-round action will conclude on Friday evening, as reigning champion Ross Smith begins his title defence against recent German Darts Championship winner Ricardo Pietreczko.
Four-time champion Michael van Gerwen will open his title tilt against Latvia's Madars Razma, 2018 winner James Wade plays Dirk van Duijvenbode, while World Grand Prix champion Luke Humphries takes on Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan.
