Beau Greaves Headlines European Tour Qualifiers As Raymond Van Barneveld does the double And Michael Smith Secure Returns
Beau Greaves Headlines European Tour Qualifiers As Raymond Van Barneveld does the double And Michael Smith Secure Returns
Beau Greaves continued her outstanding form by qualifying for the Flanders Darts Trophy, while Raymond van Barneveld and Michael Smith also booked their places on the European Tour during a busy day of Tour Card Holder Qualifiers in Hildesheim.
Two qualifying events took place on Wednesday, with 10 places available for both September’s Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp and October’s Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel.
Greaves stars in Flanders Darts Trophy qualifier
The opening qualifier saw players competing for places at the Flanders Darts Trophy, which takes place in Antwerp from September 11-13.
Greaves headlined the list of qualifiers after producing another impressive display, averaging 102.47 in a 6-3 victory over James Hurrell in the deciding match to secure her place.
Cristo Reyes also continued his excellent European Tour form by qualifying for a third consecutive event.
It also proved to be a welcome return for Raymond van Barneveld, who will make his first European Tour appearance since the Austrian Darts Open in Graz. The Dutch legend failed to average over 90 in any of his matches but showed his experience by coming through every test.
Bradley Brooks and Jim Long both enjoyed emphatic victories to qualify, defeating Kim Huybrechts and Charlie Manby 6-1 respectively, while Karel Sedlacek completed the line-up with a whitewash victory over Brendan Dolan.
Jeffrey de Graaf, Stephen Burton and Chris Landman also secured qualification for Antwerp.
Former world champions miss out
It proved to be a disappointing session for former world champions Michael Smith and Peter Wright.
Smith suffered a surprise 6-0 whitewash defeat to Tyler Thorpe, while Wright was unable to cope with an impressive Charlie Manby, who averaged 100 in victory.
Eight-time European Tour title winner Dave Chisnall also endured an early exit, suffering a rare first-round defeat, while 2024 European Champion Ritchie Edhouse failed to qualify once again as the ranking money from his title success continues to come under increasing pressure.
The performance of the session came from Richard Veenstra, who averaged 103.57 in his opening victory, only to be eliminated immediately afterwards by fellow Dutchman Chris Landman.
The Antwerp field is set to be packed with star quality, with Luke Littler returning to European Tour action as the number one seed ahead of Luke Humphries. Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Josh Rock, Gerwyn Price, Stephen Bunting and Gary Anderson are also among the headline names.
Smith bounces back to qualify for Swiss Darts Trophy
The second Tour Card Holder Qualifier switched attention to October’s Swiss Darts Trophy, where another 10 European Tour places were up for grabs.
After missing out earlier in the day, Michael Smith responded in style to book his return to the European Tour.
The 2023 World Champion edged past Cor Dekker 6-5 in a dramatic deciding match to secure his first European Tour appearance since the Austrian Darts Open in May.
Van Barneveld completed a perfect day by qualifying for a second consecutive event, backing up his Antwerp qualification with a narrow 6-5 victory over David Sharp to seal his place in Basel.
Reyes rounded off another impressive campaign with a dominant 6-0 victory over Robert Owen in the deciding match, while De Graaf and Brooks both came through hard-fought final encounters.
Karel Sedlacek narrowly missed out on a qualification double after losing to Mensur Suljović in the deciding round.
The remaining qualifiers were Sietse Lap, Tom Bissell, Mario Vandenbogaerde and Maik Kuivenhoven.
Greaves’ streak ends
Greaves was unable to make it four consecutive European Tour qualifications, suffering a first-round defeat to Owen Bates in the Swiss Darts Trophy qualifier.
Mike De Decker, who did not compete for a place at his home event earlier in the day, also suffered disappointment after losing his opening match 6-3 to Bradley Brooks. Fellow Belgian Kim Huybrechts was also eliminated in the Last 80.
Peter Wright’s difficult run continued, with the two-time World Champion edged out by Rhys Griffin in a deciding leg to miss out on another European Tour event.
Luke Humphries will headline the field in Basel as the number one seed, with Luke Littler not competing. Defending champion Stephen Bunting joins Gian van Veen, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall among the leading contenders for the title.
Beau Greaves Headlines European Tour Qualifiers As Raymond Van Barneveld does the double And Michael Smith Secure Returns
ET13 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers: Bradley Brooks, Cristo Reyes, Jim Long, Stephen Burton, Jeffrey de Graaf, Beau Greaves, Raymond van Barneveld, Karel Sedlacek, Mickey Mansell, Chris Landman.
ET14 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers: Bradley Brooks, Mensur Suljovic, Tom Bissell, Jeffrey de Graaf, Michael Smith, Mario Vandenbogaerde, Raymond van Barneveld, Sietse Lap, Maik Kuivenhoven, Cristo Reyes
