Michael van Gerwen's challenging year took another hit as he was eliminated from the Swiss Darts Trophy by Mensur Suljovic, losing 6-4 in his first match on Saturday night. Suljovic, who has now defeated Van Gerwen four times in a row, led 5-2 before Van Gerwen almost staged a comeback. However, three missed darts prevented him from forcing a decider, marking the fifth time in six tournaments that Van Gerwen exited after just one match.

In a day filled with surprises at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, several seeds fell, while others advanced to Finals Day. Notable performances included:

• Luke Humphries, the newly crowned World Grand Prix champion, overcoming Kevin Doets in a thrilling decider, showcasing an average of almost 103.
• Gian van Veen delivering a dominant performance with a hat-trick of ton-plus checkouts to sweep past Niko Springer.
• Jonny Clayton impressing with an average of 108.81 against Maik Kuivenhoven.

The tournament also saw the reigning champion Stephen Bunting defeated by Jeffrey de Graaf, while Martin Schindler was eliminated by Tom Bissell, who reached Finals Day for the first time.

Dirk van Duijvenbode ended James Wade's title defense and will face the resurgent Michael Smith, who delivered one of his best performances of the year against Jermaine Wattimena.

Finals Day is set to begin at 11 am on Sunday, culminating in an evening session featuring the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final.