Cameron Menzies Takes A Giant Stride Towards The World Matchplay As The Scotsman Stars At The Slovak Darts Open
Cameron Menzies Takes A Giant Stride Towards The World Matchplay As The Scotsman Stars At The Slovak Darts Open
Cameron Menzies and Mike De Decker stole the headlines on Day Two of the inaugural Slovak Darts Open, producing a pair of sensational ton-plus averages to secure their places in Sunday’s final day in Bratislava.
With the tournament’s seeded stars entering the competition at the Incheba Expo, Saturday delivered a host of high-quality performances, dramatic finishes and notable upsets as the race towards the title intensified.
Menzies was among the standout performers of the day, producing one of the highest averages of the tournament to sweep aside Gerwyn Price in emphatic fashion.
The Scot averaged a superb 106 in a commanding 6-2 victory over the Welshman, reeling off the final three legs in 11, 12 and 10 darts to complete an impressive display and continue his push towards World Matchplay qualification.
His reward is a third-round clash against European Tour debutant Tom Sykes, who continued his dream week with another memorable victory.
“That was a free hit,” explained Menzies, who now sits inside the World Matchplay qualification spots.
“I was so nervous, but what helped is that my first dart was finding the treble most of the time.
“I needed that. I’m gutted I didn’t get a dart for the nine-darter, I’ll hit it one day, I know I will.
“All I want to do is win. I love Bratislava, and I hope I will be back here.”
Sykes has been one of the stories of the weekend so far, and the Englishman followed up his opening-round success over Niko Springer with another eye-catching result.
The 33-year-old edged past German number one Martin Schindler in a tense deciding-leg thriller, showing remarkable composure under pressure to eliminate one of the tournament favourites.
“I’m happy to get over the line. He hit the maximum at the start of the last leg and I just knew I had to follow it,” admitted Sykes.
“I never give up, I never will, I’ll always be there or thereabouts, so we’ll carry onto tomorrow and see what happens.”
Another player producing fireworks was Belgium’s Mike De Decker.
The World Grand Prix champion returned to top form with a clinical 6-2 victory over William O’Connor, averaging in excess of 107 to record one of the performances of the day.
De Decker’s dominant display earned him a place in the last 16, where he will meet Ryan Joyce.
Joyce booked his spot with a hard-fought victory over Welsh number one Jonny Clayton, prevailing in yet another deciding-leg encounter after a fiercely contested battle.
Elsewhere, top seed Gian van Veen suffered another early European Tour exit after running into an in-form Rob Cross.
Fresh from lifting the Players Championship 22 title in Wigan earlier in the week, Cross continued his resurgence with a polished 6-3 success over the world number three.
The former World Champion has looked increasingly dangerous in recent weeks and now faces Kevin Doets for a place in the quarter-finals.
Doets produced one of the most convincing victories of the afternoon session, dispatching Australian number one Damon Heta 6-2 to advance comfortably.
Recent Baltic Sea Darts Open champion Luke Woodhouse was unable to continue his impressive European Tour form, falling 6-4 to veteran Andrew Gilding.
The former UK Open champion now faces Michael van Gerwen in one of Sunday’s standout third-round clashes.
Van Gerwen was pushed all the way by Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in his opening match of the weekend.
The Dutch superstar looked set to complete victory earlier in the contest but squandered six match darts before eventually surviving a deciding-leg scare to progress.
Dutch representation remains strong heading into the final day, with Danny Noppert and Jermaine Wattimena both producing assured performances.
Noppert overcame Latvia’s Madars Razma with relative comfort, while Wattimena ended Dave Chisnall’s hopes with a convincing victory of his own.
The pair will now face each other for a place in the quarter-finals.
Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Searle also safely navigated their opening assignments.
Aspinall saw off Canadian veteran Jim Long, while Searle produced a solid display to defeat Kim Huybrechts and secure his place in the last 16.
One of the most dramatic contests of the evening involved Stephen Bunting and Niels Zonneveld.
The Dutchman looked destined for defeat after trailing 5-2, but produced a spirited fightback to force a deciding leg and threaten one of the comebacks of the tournament.
However, Bunting held his nerve in the decider to keep his title hopes alive.
The St Helens star now faces Players Championship Order of Merit leader Wessel Nijman, who delivered another accomplished display in a 6-2 victory over Slovenia’s Benjamin Pratnemer.
Nijman arrives on the final day full of confidence after collecting his seventh ranking title of the year earlier this week and remains one of the leading contenders for the title.
Completing the last 16 line-up are Ross Smith and Chris Dobey.
Smith booked his place with victory over Joe Cullen, while Dobey ended the impressive run of European Tour debutant Tyler Thorpe to set up an all-English showdown on Sunday afternoon.
The final day of action gets underway from 1300 local time (1200 BST), with the remaining 16 players battling for a place in the evening session as the inaugural Slovak Darts Open champion is crowned in Bratislava.
Cameron Menzies Takes A Giant Stride Towards The World Matchplay As The Scotsman Stars At The Slovak Darts Open
2026 Slovak Darts Open
Saturday June 20
Round Two
Afternoon Session
Mike De Decker 6-2 William O’Connor
Kevin Doets 6-2 Damon Heta
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Benjamin Pratnemer
Danny Noppert 6-2 Madars Razma
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Chris Dobey 6-4 Tyler Thorpe
Ryan Searle 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Jim Long
Tom Sykes 6-5 Martin Schindler
Cameron Menzies 6-2 Gerwyn Price
Rob Cross 6-3 Gian van Veen
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Ross Smith 6-5 Joe Cullen
Sunday June 21
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Rob Cross v Kevin Doets
Ryan Searle v Nathan Aspinall
Cameron Menzies v Tom Sykes
Danny Noppert v Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen v Andrew Gilding
Chris Dobey v Ross Smith
Ryan Joyce v Mike De Decker
Stephen Bunting v Wessel Nijman
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order
