St Helens darter Stephen Bunting takes the power out of Taylor's European Championship hopes

European Championship debutant Bunting recorded his first-ever victory over four-time champion Taylor as the pair enjoyed a sensational clash at the RWE Sporthalle, both averaging 102.

Bunting hit ten 180s to the Stoke legend's seven, and the St Helens man also missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish during an epic contest.

Bunting took out 86, 104 and double 18 as he won the opening three legs despite maximums from Taylor, who pulled back to 3-2 with the aid of two more 180s.

Bunting landed two 180s of his own in an 11-dart leg as he edged 4-2 up, and after Taylor finished 121 to hit back the Lakeside Champion then took out 100 to move into a 5-3 advantage.

Five missed doubles in the next leg allowed Taylor to hit back, and a 14-darter from the 16-time World Champion saw him level the game - only for Bunting to reply with finishes of 102 and 109 to win of the next three legs.

Bunting then opened the 14th leg with two 180s and landed another treble 20 and treble 19 to continue his bid for a nine-darter, only to see his dart at double 12 land just inside the inner wire.

Taylor was hot on his heels, but missed tops for a 109 finish as Bunting returned to hit double six to complete a ten-dart leg, only for the world number two to finish 68 and 14-darter as he levelled at eight-all.

Bunting's 13-darter saw him move 9-8 up, but he then missed double seven to take out 122 as Taylor sent the game into a decider - but a tenth 180 of the game saw the PDC newcomer pull away before he took out 68 on tops to complete the triumph.

"It's a great win but when you play against Phil you know you've got to play to the best of your ability or you're going home," admitted Bunting, who now plays Terry Jenkins in the quarter-finals.

"I was really clinical with my finishing in the early part of the game and I knew I was playing well and just needed to keep it up. I didn't want it to go nine-all, but I'll take a 10-9 win any day of the week.

"I've grown up watching Phil over the last 15 or 20 years and he's one of the reasons I picked a dart up, so it's nice to get one over on him on the big stage.

"It would have been lovely to hit the nine-darter and the double 12 wasn't a million miles away, but I had to shut it out afterwards because Phil could have walked all over me.

"He's a fantastic player who has done everything in the sport and I'm a little bit emotional, but I've got to focus on the next match now and prepare for the quarter-finals.

"My aim's to win the tournament and I know I've got the game to do it because I've just taken out one of the best players in the world, and if I turn up tomorrow and play the way I have been playing then I've got a really good chance of winning this title."

Taylor said: "Stephen was brilliant there and he didn't miss anything. I can't fault him and I hold my hands up, he was the best player on the night, he played superbly and I've got no complaints."

World Champion Michael van Gerwen, the number one seed, also stared defeat in the face during another high-quality clash before he overcame Brendan Dolan 10-8.

Van Gerwen hit 11 maximums - the day's highest total, one more than Bunting and Jelle Klaasen's ten - but had to dig deep after Dolan came from 4-2 down to lead 6-4 and 8-7.

However, missed doubles from Dolan in two successive legs proved his undoing as van Gerwen edged 9-8 up before he hit a maximum and finished a 13-darter on double eight to complete victory with a 103.32 average.

"I made it very difficult for myself, especially at the beginning of the game, but the most important thing is that I'm through," said van Gerwen.

"I scored really well but I missed too many doubles. I could have been 6-0 up but found myself 6-4 down, and Brendan played really well.

"It was a fantastic game and I just want to go on and win this tournament now. I hope I can play even better in the quarter-finals."

Van Gerwen was joined in progressing to the last eight by fellow countryman Raymond van Barneveld, the Premier League Darts champion who took a 10-7 win from his all-Dutch second round battle with Vincent van der Voort.

Van der Voort hit back from 3-0 down to level at four-all but another three legs from van Barneveld edged him clear before he completed the victory, despite three 11-dart finishes from his quick-throwing opponent.

"I'm happy with the win but I know I can play a lot better," said van Barneveld, who now faces Peter Wright. "I was happy to be leading 4-1 but Vincent fought back very well and I never scored as well as I thought I would.

"Tomorrow, if I want to win the European Championship, I'll have to play a lot better than this and I will do that in the quarter-finals."

Mervyn King was Saturday night's other winner as he defeated Belgian ace Ronny Huybrechts 10-7 to set up a tasty clash with Klaasen on Sunday afternoon.

King romped into an early 4-0 lead as he broke throw twice, finished 127 on the bull and a 13-darter on tops, and he also took out 111 as he took a fifth leg.

Huybrechts finished 108 to stay in touch, and after King edged away into an 8-4 lead the Belgian won the next three legs as he pulled back to 8-7.

King, though, landed 180s in the next two legs as he won through to the quarter-finals for the second time in his career.

"I made hard work of it but I'm happy that I got the job done," said King. "I had a great start and was pretty comfortable in the first half of the game, but Ronny started to get himself back into the match.

"He was starting to make me really work for it, and I knew I had to up the ante and I did that towards the end. It will be a humdinger in the quarter-finals against Jelle and I'm really looking forward to it."

Klaasen had overcome Jamie Caven 10-7 in a thriller earlier in the day in a heavy-scoring game.

An early 11-dart leg helped Klaasen into a 3-2 lead, only for Caven to hit back and put himself 6-4 up as he took out 138 and 100 in successive legs.

Klaasen, though, would win six of the game's final seven legs as a sustained spell of heavy scoring saw him power to victory, hitting two 177s as he levelled the game before hitting a 180 in six successive legs.

He also took out a 110 finish, another 11-darter and a 13-dart leg during that run as he moved through to in Sunday's Finals Day in Muelheim.

"I played better than in the first round and it's good to be through," said the former Lakeside Champion. "I played well at the end of the game.

"Maybe I should have been 6-4 up instead of 6-4 down, but after that I played brilliant - I was scoring well and at the end I finished pretty well.

"Away from the big stage I'm sometimes averaging over 110, but it's different up on stage and it's getting better on stage for me and I feel more confident.

"I've got to finish better than I did here in the quarter-finals but I feel good and I'm focused."

Number four seed Peter Wright progressed to face van Barneveld as he claimed a 10-5 win over Kim Huybrechts in their second round contest.

Huybrechts held a slender advantage during the early stages as the pair shared the opening eight legs, but Wright claimed a crucial break in the ninth as he punished a trio of missed doubles from his opponent by moving 5-4 up.

Although the next two legs were shared, Wright finished 142 amongst a run of four successive legs as he pulled through to reach his second quarter-final in the tournament.

"For me to get the win is good, but I felt that I struggled at times," said Wright. "I'm not happy with the performance but I'm happy to get the win.

"I didn't score as well as I thought I would today but the doubles were pretty good - and when you get a chance at a double against a player like Kim you've got to take it.

"Kim's using a new set of darts and he'll get better and better because he'd been playing for 18 years with his other darts, so his form is coming with them and he'll only keep improving.

"Even though I won 6-5 last night, I felt in a way more like I scraped through this game but hopefully I can improve for the next round."

Huybrechts conceded: "I'm not happy at all. I felt really good going into the game but it just didn't happen for me - I think I played at about 45 percent of my abilities and Peter was the better player and deserved to win."

Number eight seed Dave Chisnall edged out Ian White 10-9 in a thriller as he reached the quarter-finals for the first time in the event following a see-saw contest.

White led 2-0 before his opponent finished 135 on his way to levelling, only for the Stoke ace to take the next two for a 4-2 advantage.

Chisnall won three in a row as he took the lead, only for White to defy maximum scores from the St Helens man as he edged in front at 7-5 before sharing the next four legs to lead 9-7.

However, White would never give himself a match dart as Chisnall finished double nine and double ten to level and send the game into a deicder, which he opened with two 180s and sealed by taking out 82 for a 12-darter.

"I'm delighted to be through," said Chisnall. "I started off a bit slowly and Ian started off very well, but I was losing legs on my throw and then nicking legs on his throw - it was a funny game.

"After I got it back to five-all I managed to get on a bit of a roll and I dug in and started to hold my throw a bit better.

"In the last leg, Ian started with a 58 and I just wanted to punish him with the 180, and then another one came and I told myself not to miss my doubles when I got a shot, so fortunately I didn't."

White said: "Dave let me in a few times towards the end, and when I got to nine legs I knew that I only needed one more leg, but it just didn't go for me in the last three legs.

"The trebles didn't go in as well as they did earlier in the game and I didn't have as much energy as earlier in the game, but fair play to Dave because he hit the 180s and 140s in the last few legs."

Terry Jenkins was the afternoon session's other winner as he picked up a narrow 10-8 win over Robert THornton in another high-quality contest.

Although Thornton won the game's opening leg and moved 2-1 up, a 121 bullseye finish moved Jenkins 3-2 up and he would never relinquish that advantage as he progressed.

The eight-time major finalist produced a key 11-darter to deny Thornton the chance to level in the game's 14th leg, as he ended the game by taking over 50 percent of his chances at a double.

"I'm pleased with that performance," said Jenkins. "Rob's a class player and he's tough to beat, but my doubles went in well and I was scoring okay too, so everything's going alright at the moment.

"It won't be any easier in the quarter-finals against Phil or Stephen but every player is capable of beating each other now. I've just got to make sure I prepare properly and do the business on stage.

"I'm probably a better player when I've got a tough draw because you know what you've got to do when you get up there, and I'm doing that so far this week.

"It sometimes makes it harder if you're expected to win, so I don't mind being the underdog. Past records against players don't mean anything - it's about performing on the day."

The £250,000 tournament concludes on Sunday, with a new champion guaranteed following the exits of previous winners Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Simon Whitlock.

The afternoon session at the RWE Sporthalle will feature the quarter-finals, with the semi-finals and final taking place in the evening session as the players compete for the £55,000 first prize.

888.com European Championship Saturday October 25 Afternoon Session Second Round

Terry Jenkins 10-8 Robert Thornton

Dave Chisnall 10-9 Ian White

Jelle Klaasen 10-7 Jamie Caven

Peter Wright 10-5 Kim Huybrechts

Evening Session Second Round

Raymond van Barneveld 10-7 Vincent van der Voort

Phil Taylor 9-10 Stephen Bunting

Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Brendan Dolan

Ronny Huybrechts 7-10 Mervyn King

Sunday October 26 Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK) Quarter-Finals

Mervyn King v Jelle Klaasen

Stephen Bunting v Terry Jenkins

Michael van Gerwen v Dave Chisnall

Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright

Evening Session (7.45pm-12am local time, 6.45pm-11pm UK) Semi-Finals

Bunting/Jenkins v King/Klaasen

van Gerwen/Chisnall v van Barneveld/Wright

TODAY'S MATCH INFORMATION

Raymond van Barneveld v Vincent van der Voort 1-0 - van Barneveld makes a fine start, landing a 180 before taking out 66 on tops to win the opening leg.

2-0 - van der Voort is punished for missing four darts at doubles as van Barneveld returns from his own misses to land double two for a break of throw.

3-0 - Double nine sees van Barneveld win a third successive leg to continue his fine start.

3-1 - van der Voort finishes double 16 for an 11-darter to get his challenge in the game up and running.

4-1 - van Barneveld restores his advantage, landing a 177 before taking out double ten.

4-2 - van Barneveld lands a maximum, but van der Voort finishes 89 to hit back.

4-3 - van der Voort lands his first 180 before posting double eight to break throw.

4-4 - van der Voort opens the leg with a 180 and 125 with van Barneveld adding a maximum before watching his rival level the game by finishing 96 on double 18 for another 11-darter.

5-4 - van Barneveld takes out double 12 for a 14-dart leg to regain the lead.

6-4 - van Barneveld opens the leg with a 180 and adds a 174 to leave 40, with van der Voort missing three darts at double top and ten to take the leg as he allows the Premier League champion in for another break of throw with a 14-darter as he lands double ten.

7-4 - van der Voort misses the bull to finish 122, and van Barneveld steps in once more as he hits tops to regain his three-leg lead.

7-5 - van der Voort scores two 180s in the leg, to van Barneveld's one, as he hits a third 11-darter of the game to hit back.

8-5 - Double eight edges van Barneveld back ahead.

8-6 - van der Voort replies on double eight with a 13-dart leg.

9-6 - van Barneveld lands another maximum and double four for a 13-darter to move a leg away from the win.

9-7 - van der Voort pins double eight to keep his hopes alive.

10-7 - van Barneveld seals the win and books his quarter-final place on double 18.

Phil Taylor v Stephen Bunting 0-1 - Taylor opens the game with a 180, but Bunting replies in kind and takes out 86 on the bull to win the first leg.

0-2 - Bunting breaks throw with a 104 finish, despite another maximum from Taylor.

0-3 - The pair trade 180s again as the heavy scoring continues, with Bunting finishing a third-dart double 18 as he wins a third successive leg.

1-3 - Both players hit 180s for the third time in four legs before Taylor finishes double two to get off the mark.

2-3 - Taylor fires in his fifth 180 of the game, and finishes 81 on double 12 to reduce the gap to one leg with a break.

2-4 - Bunting lands two 180s in the leg - taking his total for the game to five - before finishing double 16 for an 11-darter.

3-4 - Taylor posts his sixth maximum of the contest before finishing 121 on double eight to pull back another break of throw. with a 12-darter.

3-5 - Bunting hits his sixth 180 as the heavy scoring continues, before winning dramatic leg by finishing 100 at the second time of asking, having initially burst his score by hitting double 15 instead of double ten, only to then return and finish the combination on tops.

4-5 - Bunting kicks off the leg with his seventh maximum - and the game's 13th - but misses five darts at doubles to regain his three-leg lead, with Taylor returning to land double eight to reduce the gap to one leg once more.

5-5 - Taylor levels the game with a 14-darter, missing the bull for a 161 checkout before returning to land double eight as he ties a fascinating contest.

5-6 - Bunting takes out 102 on double 16 to regain the lead.

6-6 - Taylor pins double top to level once more.

6-7 - Bunting hits tops for his fourth ton-plus checkout of the game with a 109 finish.

6-8 - Taylor opens the leg with a 174 score, but Bunting replies with two maximums to set up a possible nine-darter, adding another treble 20 and treble 19 before missing double 12 to achieve the feat. Taylor then misses tops for a 109 finish for a 12-dart leg, allowing Bunting back to finish double six to take the leg in ten darts as he breaks to regain a two-leg lead.

7-8 - Taylor breaks throw by finishing 68 on double four.

8-8 - Taylor fires in his seventh 180 of the game, and though he initially misses the bull for a 121 finish, Bunting is unable to take out the same combination as the four-time champion returns to land double eight for a 14-darter to level.

8-9 - Bunting finishes a 13-dart leg on double 16 to move back in front and one leg away from the win.

9-9 - Bunting opens the game with two 140s and adds a 99 score to be first to a finish, but wires double seven for a 122 checkout for the match, and Taylor finishes 84 for a 12-darter to force a deciding leg!

9-10 - Bunting opens the leg with a 58 score but bounces back with his tenth 180 of the game and then adds a 140 to be first to a finish, with Taylor unable to leave a finish as the St Helens man finishes 68 to complete a brilliant victory.

Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan 1-0 - van Gerwen lands a 180 and finishes double eight to break throw in the opening leg.

1-1 - Dolan fires in a maximum of his own as he breaks back, capitalising on missed doubles from his rival by taking out 64 on double eight.

2-1 - The pair trade 180s in the third leg as van Gerwen takes out double 16 for an 11-darter to secure another break.

2-2 - van Gerwen opens the leg with 140 and 170, but allows Dolan back in to finish tops to level.

3-2 - A fifth successive leg goes against the throw, with both players opening with 180s before van Gerwen finishes 116 for a 12-darter to move back in front, maintaining a 111 average.

4-2 - van Gerwen lands a 180 to give himself breathing space, with Dolan missing double 12 to finish 105 to allow him back in on double three.

4-3 - Dolan misses the bull for a 170 finish, but returns to land double eight.

4-4 - The pair trade 180s but then miss doubles for ton-plus finishes, and van Gerwen then misses double ten and five to allow Dolan back to land a third-dart double 11 to level.

4-5 - Dolan takes out 64 on double 16 to move ahead for the first time - with both players averaging above 103.

4-6 - Both players initially miss one dart at a double, before Dolan returns to land double top to break throw and move two legs clear.

5-6 - Double top sees van Gerwen hit back with a break of throw.

6-6 - van Gerwen hits another 180 before taking out 96 on double nine to level.

6-7 - Dolan opens with a 177 before landing a third-dart double 16 to regain the edge.

7-7 - van Gerwen levels once more, hitting a 180 and then finishing a 13-darter on double 16.

7-8 - Dolan replies in kind as he posts a fifth maximum and double 16.

8-8 - Dolan hits his sixth 180, but misses double five for a 130 finish to allow van Gerwen back in on double four to level.

9-8 - Dolan wires the bullseye for a 161 checkout, but van Gerwen is unable to land tops to finish 82 - and the drama increases as the pair are unable to claim the leg on their next visit before the Northern Irish ace misses two more darts at double eight to allow the World Champion in on double ten to move a leg away from the win.

10-8 - van Gerwen hits his 11th 180 before finishing double eight for a 13-darter to complete a gritty win.

Ronny Huybrechts v Mervyn King 0-1 - King makes a fine start, breaking throw immediately with a 14-darter.

0-2 - King finishes 127 on the bull to double his lead.

0-3 - King opens the third leg with a 177 score, before landing double eight to break throw again.

0-4 - Tops for a 13-darter helps King into a four-leg lead, as he moves his average up to 109.

1-4 - Huybrechts reaches a finish for the first time in the game, and lands tops to get off the mark.

1-5 - King finishes 111 to win his fifth leg of the game.

2-5 - King lands his first 180, but Huybrechts is first to a finish and posts double four to hit back.

2-6 - King finishes a third-dart double 16 to move four legs clear again.

3-6 - King posts another 180, only to see Huybrechts finish 108 on double 16 to respond.

3-7 - Double four sees King move three legs away from the victory.

4-7 - King misses double 16 for a 110 finish, and Huybrechts returns to land double 16 to hit back again.

4-8 - Double 18 sees King regain his four-leg cushion.

5-8 - Huybrechts lands a 180 before hitting back by taking out 82 on tops.

6-8 - The Belgian leaves 24 with a superb 177 before posting double 12 to win back-to-back legs for the first time in the game.

7-8 - Huybrechts wins a third successive leg, opening with a 180 and finishing double four to pull back to just one leg behind his rival.

7-9 - King regains his cushion by landing a 180 and finishing 66 on tops.

7-10 - King adds another maximum before sealing victory on double four.