Dutch favorite Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock second-round exit at the Dutch Darts Championship on Saturday, losing 6-5 to Ireland’s William O’Connor.
The loss extends Van Gerwen’s poor run of form, having lost his opening match at four European tournaments this season before arriving in Maastricht: the European Darts Trophy, the German Grand Prix of Darts, the Flanders Darts Trophy and the Swiss Darts Trophy. This marks his most first-round appearances in a single season since the tournament began in 2012.
O’Connor produced a magnificent display, firing in three plus tons of 136, 131 and 121 to seal his victory and book his place in the third round.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Gerwyn Price’s return to the scene ended in glory as he beat Scott Williams 6-3, while Gian van Veen broke his European Tour record average.
Martin Schindler and Stephen Bunting also jumped into the qualification spots for Dortmund.
Van Veen averaged a staggering 120.24 in the whitewash of Sebastian Bialecki, breaking the previous record of 118.66 by Dave Chisnall.
Schindler sealed his place at the European Championships later this month with his victory over Karel Sedlacek.
Bunting left it late to secure his place at the European Championships, beating the already qualified Cameron Menzies 6-2 to book his place. The former Masters champion needed a strong finish to get over the line.
The 41-year-old hit six of ten attempts in the outer ring in his victory over the Scot and jumped into the qualifying places, knocking Kim Huybrechts out of the running.
Dutchman Gian van Veen broke the European Tour record average on Saturday
Brendan Dolan remains the only player capable of dislodging Sedlacek from the European Championship qualifying places after defeating Heine Uuldriks 6-4. The Northern Irishman had led 4-1 before storming back.
Nathan Aspinall ended Michael Smith’s hopes of qualifying for Dortmund with a dominant 6-1 win. The World Grand Prix semi-finalist averaged over 102 to dispatch the former world champion.
Wessel Nijman and Danny Noppert also secured their places in Sunday’s action, with the Dutch duo beating Jeffrey De Graaf and Dave Chisnall respectively.
Niels Zonneveld cruised into the final match against Krzysztof Ratajski, hitting the maximum seven for the second straight match to secure his place in the third round. Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena also advanced, defeating host country qualifier Jimmy van Schie 6-2.
European Tour ranking leader Ross Smith will face Ryan Searle in the third round after defeating Ryan Joyce and Dirk van Duijvenbode respectively.
Damon Heta averaged over 103 in a dominant 6-1 win over Jonny Clayton, securing his first win against the Welshman since May last year.
Luke Woodhouse also booked his place in Sunday’s action with a comfortable win over Andrew Gilding.
Cristo Reyes closed out the evening’s action in style, averaging over 110 in a 6-2 win against Chris Dobey while converting 60 percent of his doubleheader attempts.
The Dutch Darts Championship concludes with a double bumper session on Sunday as the last 16 players battle it out for the title in Maastricht.
Dutch Darts Championship schedule and results
All times United Kingdom and Ireland
Sunday, October 18
Third round (12 noon)
Gian van Veen vs Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle vs Ross Smith
William O’Connor vs Luke Woodhouse
Danny Noppert vs Jermaine Wattimena
Gerwyn Price vs Niels Zonneveld
Wessel Nijman vs Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta vs. Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting vs Nathan Aspinall
Evening session (18:00)
The quarterfinals
semifinals
ultimate
Saturday, October 17
The second round
Martin Schindler 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Jeffrey De Graaf
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Andrew Gilding
Ross Smith 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Danny Knoppert 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Heine Wooldricks
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Scott Williams
Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Jimmy van Schie
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Cameron Menzies
Gian van Veen 6-0 Sebastian Bialecki
William O’Connor 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Damon Heta 6-1 Jonny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Michael Smith
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Chris Dobey
Friday, October 16
First round
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Callan Rydz
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Nick Kenny
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Jonas Masalin
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Max Hopp
Ryan Joyce 6-0 Owen Bates
Heine Uldriks 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 James Hurrell
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Daryl Gurney
William O’Connor 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Scott Williams 6-5 Niko Springer
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Mike De Decker
Jimmy van Schie 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Krzysztof Kciuk
Damon Heta 6-4 Maikel Verberk
Michael Smith 6-5 Stephen Burton
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