Martin Schindler set the mood in Dortmund, with the home crowd favourite up against Dave Chisnall.
From the walk-on, Schindler immediately enjoyed the crowd, and the "Martin Schindler Olé" chants echoed through the Westfalenhalle as the first leg began.
'Chizzy' had the darts first and immediately took out a 111 checkout, which was quickly confirmed with a break for 2-0 and another held throw-off for 3-0.
Martin Schindler's first 180 at 0-3 got the Dortmund cauldron boiling again, the checkout to 1-3 even more so.
Now, Schindler's first dart in particular went really well; the break to 2-3 followed, and the Strausberger only needed 11 darts to equalise to 3:3 in no time at all.
Schindler remains ice cold
In the seventh leg, however, the atmosphere cooled down abruptly and Chisnall secured the next leg, while the scoreboard still showed 241 for Schindler. Yet the German was not deterred, showing his world-class level, checking 76 under pressure to make it 4-4.
After Schindler narrowly missed a 110 finish, Chisnall was on hand to regain the lead at 5-4. The Englishman then turned his attention to the crowd, who whistled throughout the match, which made little impression on the veteran.
After another solid leg from Schindler, the decider began, the first so far that evening in Dortmund.
Chisnall started the deciding leg without a triple, and it was a slight advantage in favour of the German at the start of this eleventh leg.
In the third leg of the decider, Schindler fired his third 180 of the evening into the board and rewarded himself by being the first to reach a finish, which he swiftly dispatched with tops. His first career victory at the tournament means he will now face Ryan Joyce in the round of 16 on Saturday, after his 6-3 victory over Luke Woodhouse.
"It only took me six attempts to win a game here," said a smiling Martin Schindler afterwards.
Disappointing Wright loses prize money
Ross Smith then challenged the 2023 European Champion, Peter Wright.
The Scot knew what was at stake here today and therefore seemed less relaxed than he is used to.
In the end, this tenseness took its revenge in the form of an easy win for Ross Smith, who impressed with a double rate of almost 50 per cent en route to a 6-2 triumph.
It means 'Snakebite' will have to enter the PDC Grand Slam Qualifiers for the first time since 2013.
Gian van Veen then took on Damon Heta.
The Australian crowd favourite didn't get into the match at all at first, but as soon as he found his flow, it had ended 6-3 to Gian van Veen, who, with today's scoring, at least in the first legs, could well be one of the favourites for the title.
Price and Clayton stumble
Gerwyn Price, on the other hand, can no longer say the same. The 'Iceman' failed miserably against Daryl Gurney, hitting only 3/17 on the doubles.
Just like last year, it was 'Superchin' who immediately knocked the Welshman out of the tournament. Curiously, Price was better in both scoring (91.49 to 90.51) and 180s (2-0), but in the end, the importance of the checkout was once again demonstrated.
Johnny Clayton put in a strange performance against Ryan Searle, with 'The Ferret' missing an unusual number of chances on the doubles.
After five legs, he had already missed nine, and his much-loved double 16 didn't work either.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions, with the momentum swinging back and forth. In the end, however, Ryan Searle provided a highlight with a double 19, double 20 finish to the match and knock out the second Welshman of the evening 6-3.
Van Gerwen's magnificent comeback
Michael van Gerwen is a name that still has a huge appeal in darts despite his recent performances, and he faced off against compatriot Wessel Nijman, who, alongside van Veen, is the biggest upcoming talent in Dutch darts.
However, the youngster has not managed a single win in his career to date against one of the best players of all time.
Today seemed to be the perfect chance to do so; many mistakes by the struggling MVG and Nijman's great timing ensured that the score was 4-2 after six games.
But Van Gerwen suddenly got back in the match, winning two legs in a row to leave Nijman feeling the heat.
It was the complete opposite for MVG, or so it seemed. 'The Green Machine' had three darts in hand at 5-4 to complete a comeback of four legs in a row, but missed. The pressure shifted, and the momentum was back in Nijman's favour.
However, he didn't keep his nerve and missed a number of match darts, still failing to win against MVG.
Bunting fails despite high scoring
The final match of the evening was the English duel between Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey. A match at the same level, but in which Bunting was clearly the favourite of the fans in Dortmund during the walkouts.
The level was extremely high, with throws without trebles more or less non-existent.
At 2-2 after the first four legs, both were at 100 per cent checkout and on an equal footing.
Bunting promptly forced the re-break, but the night would ultimately belong to Dobey, who ultimately went on to seal a 6-3 victory.
Despite an average of 109.20, Stephen Bunting was knocked out of the European Championship.
The main reason for this was the doubles, because Dobey was 6/9 at the end of the match and therefore brutally efficient.
Results from night one:
Johnny Clayton 3-6 Ryan Searle