Carlow man Steve Lennon survived six match darts to see off Australia's Damon Heta 6-5 in a tense decider at the second round of the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim.
Lennon goes into the final day, alongside Ricky Evans, needing to take the Hildesheim title to snatch European Championship qualification, and will face Nathan Aspinall in the last 16.
Evans advanced with a clinical 6-2 win over World Cup champion Josh Rock, hitting six doubles from eight attempts.
Peter Wright started the defence of his title with a narrow 6-5 win over 2023 winner Ricardo Pietreczko.
Stephen Bunting's hopes of landing a second consecutive European Tour title were ended in a 6-4 defeat to Ryan Joyce, while Dutch veteran Raymond van Barneveld was beaten 6-1 by Jonny Clayton.
Dirk van Duijvenbode continued his remarkable run of form, averaging over 117 a 6-2 win over Chris Dobey, the day after he landed a nine-darter in the opening round.
Other winners included Gerwyn Price, who beat Christian Kist 6-1, and Martin Schindler, the three-time European Tour event winner overcoming Limerick's Willie O'Connor 6-4.
Second Round results
Afternoon Session
Gian van Veen 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Steve Lennon 6-5 Damon Heta
Danny Noppert 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Ryan Searle
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Mike De Decker
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Rob Cross
Peter Wright 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Gabriel Clemens
Evening Session
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ross Smith
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Christian Kist
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 James Wade
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Chris Dobey
Martin Schindler 6-4 William O'Connor
Ricky Evans 6-2 Josh Rock
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Round Three
Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton v Gian van Veen
Steve Lennon v Nathan Aspinall
Jermaine Wattimena v Wessel Nijman
Cameron Menzies v Peter Wright
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Martin Schindler
Ricky Evans v Dave Chisnall
Ryan Joyce v Krzysztof Ratajski
