Dave Chisnall Czechs out early on with second-round defeat

The top seed exited in the last 32 following a 6-2 defeat against Niels Zonneveld in the second of Saturday evening’s matches.

Chisnall had been the top seed for the final European Tour event of the year at the PVA EXPO in Prague.

However, his hope of a third Tour title in 2024 ended with a below-par display in defeat against Zonneveld.

The Dutchman’s run ended at the semi-final stage, where he was beaten 7-6 by Kim Huybrechts; the eventual runner-up to Luke Humphries.

He prevailed 8-1, finishing a competition which saw him lose only 11 legs across his five matches in the Czech capital.

Last weekend’s tournament also saw confirmation of the field for this weekend’s Machineseeker European Championship.

It sees the top 32 players from the 2024 European Tour Order of Merit competing at the Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, from Thursday to Sunday.

Chisnall is the fourth seed and meets world number two Michael Smith in the opening round.

Peter Wright will begin his title defence against Jermaine Wattimena, while Humphries faces former World Matchplay and UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall.

The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course, with the first round taking place across two sessions on Thursday and Friday evening.

Saturday then sees the second round matches played, featuring the last 16, before the quarter-finals are on Sunday afternoon.

The semi-finals and final of the £500,000 tournament will then be played on Sunday evening.