Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith both navigated tricky tests to book their places in the final session of the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich, as the quarter-final line-up was set on Monday afternoon. Aspinall overcame a bright start from home favourite Martin Schindler, rallying from 2-0 down to win 6-4. Schindler had taken an early lead, but Aspinall turned the match with a 12-darter to break and sealed victory with checkouts of 167, 84, and 36, finishing with an average just under 100.
Michael Smith also advanced but had to withstand a late fightback from Germany's Niko Springer. Smith raced into a 4-0 lead, breaking with a 120 checkout and a 74 checkout, and later moved 5-1 up with a 105 checkout. Springer clawed back to 5-4, but Smith eventually closed out a 6-4 win on double 20. Elsewhere, Andrew Gilding produced a superb display to ease past William O'Connor 6-1, highlighted by a 12-darter on double 18, and will face Aspinall in the quarter-finals.
The session saw notable casualties, with Josh Rock and Dirk van Duijvenbode both exiting. Rock was edged out 6-5 by a red-hot Niels Zonneveld, who sealed the win with a 12-darter for an 81 checkout. Van Duijvenbode fell 6-5 to Kevin Doets, missing a 144 checkout in the deciding leg before Doets took out 53 to progress. Zonneveld's victory included key checkouts of 102 and 74, while the match featured multiple breaks of throw.
In other matches, Danny Noppert continued his form with a 6-2 win over Karel Sedlacek, Jonny Clayton defeated Kim Huybrechts 6-4 with a 148 checkout to seal it, and Krzysztof Ratajski edged past Ross Smith 6-4. The quarter-finals are set to begin this evening, with the champion to be crowned later tonight in Munich.
