“That felt really good,” admitted 2024 semi-finalist Woodhouse, who also averaged north of 99 to book his place in the last 16.

“I had a chance for a nine-darter at the World Championship and that didn’t go very well!

“I know it’s a cliche but the most important thing is the win, so I tried to get myself nice and calm and just crack on with the game.

“I’m feeling really good at the moment. I’ve probably had the best 12 months of my life darts wise, so let’s hope it’s my weekend!”

Van Veen, meanwhile, became the first defending European Champion to register victory at this event since 2018, courtesy of a spirited 6-4 success against Andrew Gilding.

Gilding started strongly to establish a 3-2 cushion, but the Dutch number one bounced back strongly, winning four of the last five legs to kick off his bid for back-to-back titles on German soil.

“Andrew put me under pressure every leg, but I took my chances and the defence is up and running,” reflected world number three Van Veen.

“After the game I was told about the previous champions losing in the first round and luckily I didn’t know that before the game, because that would have been extra pressure for myself!

“It’s going to be a tricky game against Luke, but it’s a match I’m looking forward to and thankfully I got this one out of the way.”

Gerwyn Price also impressed on Thursday’s opening night, landing a brace of ton-plus checkouts during his 6-2 demolition of two-time champion Rob Cross.

The Welsh number one kicked off proceedings with a superb 127 on the bull, before capping off a stellar display with a 135 combination to progress with a 99.26 average.

2018 winner James Wade was another high-profile casualty in Dortmund, squandering four match darts against Damon Heta, who fought back from 5-3 adrift to triumph.

However, 2022 champion and top seed Ross Smith avoided a similar fate, defeating a spirited Karel Sedlacek 6-4 to create a round two tussle against Australian number one Heta.

Stephen Bunting also came out on top in a dramatic affair against Danny Noppert, conjuring a spectacular 160 checkout to eliminate the fifth seed in a breathless decider.

Bunting’s reward will be a meeting with Kim Huybrechts, after the Belgian capitalised on his late call-up for the event with a remarkable 6-1 demolition of Ryan Searle.

Huybrechts - drafted in as a replacement after Luke Humphries withdrew from the tournament through illness – averaged 103.81 to celebrate his first win at the European Championship since 2015.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s number two Cameron Menzies accounted for newly crowned Dutch Darts Champion Niels Zonneveld, running out a 6-3 winner to set up a showdown against Price.

European Championship: Draw and results

• (1) Ross Smith 6-4 Karel Sedlacek (32)
• (16) James Wade 5-6 Damon Heta (17)
• (8) Gian van Veen 6-4 Andrew Gilding (25)
• (9) Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode (24)
• (4) Niels Zonneveld 3-6 Cameron Menzies (29)
• (13) Gerwyn Price 6-2 Rob Cross (20)
• (5) Danny Noppert 5-6 Stephen Bunting (28)
• Kim Huybrechts* 6-1 Ryan Searle (21)
• (2) Wessel Nijman v Martin Schindler (31)
• (15) Ryan Joyce v (Jermaine Wattimena (18)
• (7) Jonny Clayton v Niko Springer (26)
• (10) Josh Rock v Chris Dobey (23)
• (3) Krzysztof Ratajski v Dave Chisnall (30)
• (14) Kevin Doets v Michael van Gerwen (19)
• (6) Nathan Aspinall v Cristo Reyes (27)
• (11) Luke Littler v William O'Connor (22)

*Kim Huybrechts replaced Luke Humphries, who withdrew due to illness

European Championship: Schedule & Results 

Thursday October 22
Round One x8

• Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode (Luke Woodhouse hit a nine-dart finish)
• Stephen Bunting 6-5 Danny Noppert
• Cameron Menzies 6-3 Niels Zonneveld
• Gerwyn Price 6-2 Rob Cross
• Damon Heta 6-5 James Wade
• Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Ryan Searle
• Gian van Veen 6-4 Andrew Gilding
• Ross Smith 6-4 Karel Sedlacek

Friday October 23 (1900-2300 CEST, 1800-2200 BST)
Round One x8

• Ryan Joyce v Jermaine Wattimena
• Krzysztof Ratajski v Dave Chisnall
• Nathan Aspinall v Cristo Reyes
• Jonny Clayton v Niko Springer
• Luke Littler v William O'Connor
• Wessel Nijman v Martin Schindler
• Kevin Doets v Michael van Gerwen
• Josh Rock v Chris Dobey

Saturday October 24
Afternoon Session (1200-1600 BST)
Round Two x4 – order of games TBC

• Ross Smith v Damon Heta
• Gian Van Veen v Luke Woodhouse
• Cameron Menzies v Gerwyn Price
• Stephen Bunting v Kim Huybrechts

Evening Session (1800-2200 BST)
Round Two x4 – order of games TBC

• Nijman/Schindler v Joyce/Wattimena
• Clayton/Springer v Rock/Dobey
• Ratajski/Chisnall v Doets/Van Gerwen
• Aspinall/Reyes v Littler/O'Connor