Niels Zonneveld won his first PDC senior title with an 8-5 victory over Danny Noppert in the final of the Dutch Darts Championship on Sunday.
An entertaining all-Dutch final in Maastricht saw a tight match locked at 2-2 before Zonneveld won three games in a row to pull away.
Noppert responded to close the gap to 5-4, but Zonneveld regained control and won back-to-back games – including a cage of 157 – to take a 7-4 lead.
Despite a tough battle against Noppert, Zonneveld was then able to see out the match with an 81, hitting double triple to seal the title.
The 28-year-old’s route to the final saw him beat Stephen Bunting 7-4 in the semi-finals and that match came after a stunning comeback with a 6-5 last-game win in the last eight. Against Wessel Nijman, Zonneveld rallied from 5-3 down to level at 5-5 and was able to bounce back after his Dutchman missed a dart in the match.
Noppert also impressed in his run to the final, claiming a 7-5 victory over compatriot Gian van Veen in the semi-finals to secure his place in the showpiece of the tournament.
It followed a comfortable quarter-final performance from Noppert, who recorded another impressive average on his way to the last four, recording 113.42 in his 6-2 win over Luke Woodhouse.
In the quarterfinals, Bunting won 6-3 over Damon Heta and scored 148, while Van Veen beat Ryan Searle 6-3.
Earlier on Sunday, the third round provided some shocks as Gerwyn Price was beaten 6-4 by Zonneveld and Nathan Aspinall was beaten 6-1 by Bunting.
Results of Sunday’s Dutch Darts Championship
The third round
Gian van Veen 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle 6-4 Ross Smith
William O’Connor 4-6 Luke Woodhouse
Danny Noppert 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Gerwyn Price 4-6 Niels Zonneveld
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta 6-4 Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Nathan Aspinall
The quarterfinals
Danny Noppert 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Gian van Veen 6-3 Ryan Searle
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Wessel Nijman
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Damon Heta
semi-finals
Danny Noppert 7-5 Gian van Veen
Niels Zonneveld 7-4 Stephen Bunting
ultimate
Niels Zonneveld 8-5 Danny Noppert
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