Karel Sedlacek Moves Into European Championship Spots After Day One at the Dutch Darts Championship
Karel Sedlacek Moves Into European Championship Spots After Day One at the Dutch Darts Championship
Karel Sedlacek moved into the European Championship qualification places on the opening day of the Dutch Darts Championship, while home qualifier Heine Uuldriks stole the show with a stunning comeback victory in Maastricht.
The final European Tour event of the season got underway at the MECC on Friday, with Sedlacek taking a crucial step towards securing his place at the European Championship in Dortmund later this month.
The Czech World Cup star defeated Callan Rydz 6-4, firing in seven maximums to continue his impressive late-season surge and move into the provisional qualification places.
Sedlacek also claimed his first career victory over Rydz, overcoming a difficult contest to keep his hopes of reaching Dortmund firmly on track.
“That was really hard for me!” Sedlacek admitted.
“Callan is one of the best players in the world, I know that, but I took my chances and I won.
“I made many mistakes but I still won so I will take that.”
The Czech currently occupies one of the remaining qualification spots, setting up a crucial second-round showdown against German number one Martin Schindler, who sits just behind him in the race for Dortmund.
With both players battling to secure their places, Saturday’s meeting could prove decisive in determining who makes the cut.
“I’m really happy for the chance to make it to Dortmund, we will see what happens tomorrow.
“I will be ready, Martin is a great player, today was the first step, tomorrow is the second, I’m ready.”
Uuldriks, meanwhile, delivered one of the standout performances of the afternoon, producing a remarkable fightback to defeat Ricardo Pietreczko in a deciding-leg thriller on his European Tour debut.
The Dutch qualifier found himself 3-0 behind before turning the contest around to move 5-4 ahead, only for Pietreczko to respond with a superb 12-dart leg to force a decider.
With the German sitting on 54, Uuldriks held his nerve to nail a brilliant 81 checkout, finding the bullseye to seal a memorable 6-5 victory in front of his home crowd.
“It was my first time up here, everyone told me to enjoy, but me, I just wanted to win,” Uuldriks explained.
“Pietreczko played brilliantly the first few legs, then I took over and then checked it out, it was unbelievable.
“A couple of weeks ago I thought that I wanted to do more in darts – this is what I came for.”
Uuldriks will now face Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan in Saturday’s second round after the latter received a late call-up to the tournament.
Cristo Reyes also strengthened his position ahead of the European Championship, securing his place in next week’s event with a comfortable 6-2 victory over Krzysztof Kciuk, which featured four maximums.
Dutch duo Dirk van Duijvenbode and Niels Zonneveld enjoyed successful starts on home soil, defeating James Hurrell and late replacement Mike De Decker respectively.
Van Duijvenbode will take on Ryan Searle in round two, while Zonneveld faces Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski.
Jimmy van Schie became the second Host Nation Qualifier to claim a victory on Friday, edging out Kim Huybrechts in a gruelling deciding-leg battle.
The defeat leaves Huybrechts facing an uphill task in his bid to qualify for the European Championship, with the Belgian unable to afford many more setbacks in the closing stages of the race.
Cameron Menzies also progressed after capitalising on a below-par display from Nick Kenny, earning a second-round meeting with Stephen Bunting.
Ryan Joyce recorded the only whitewash victory of the day, dispatching Owen Bates 6-0, while Dave Chisnall enjoyed a routine success against Jonas Masalin to boost his own hopes of qualifying for Dortmund.
Sebastian Bialecki kept his European Championship ambitions alive with a 6-2 victory over late replacement Daryl Gurney.
The Pole remains around £5,000 behind Schindler in the race for the final qualification spot and will likely need to reach at least the semi-finals in Maastricht to have a realistic chance of catching the German.
However, Bialecki faces a formidable challenge on Saturday, with world number three Gian van Veen awaiting him in the second round.
Mickey Mansell was unable to join his fellow competitors in Saturday’s action, falling 6-3 to Jeffrey de Graaf, while William O’Connor set up a mouthwatering clash against Michael van Gerwen after defeating Host Nation Qualifier Richard Veenstra 6-2.
Andrew Gilding and Michael Smith both survived deciding-leg contests, overcoming Max Hopp and Stephen Burton respectively to progress.
Scott Williams also enjoyed a welcome breakthrough, claiming his first European Tour victory of 2026 with a 6-5 success over Niko Springer.
Damon Heta rounded off the day’s action with a 6-4 victory against the final Host Nation Qualifier, Maikel Verberk, completing Friday’s opening-round programme.
The Dutch Darts Championship continues on Saturday with a bumper double session, as the 16 seeded players enter the fray and the race for the title intensifies at the MECC in Maastricht.
Karel Sedlacek Moves Into European Championship Spots After Day One at the Dutch Darts Championship
2026 Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship
Friday October 16
Round One
Afternoon Session
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 Uuldriks 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 James Hurrell
Evening Session
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
Saturday October 17
Round Two
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Martin Schindler v Karel Sedlacek
Wessel Nijman v Jeffrey De Graaf
Luke Woodhouse v Andrew Gilding
Ross Smith v Ryan Joyce
Danny Noppert v Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Brendan Dolan v Heine Uuldriks
Krzysztof Ratajski v Niels Zonneveld
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Gerwyn Price v Scott Williams
Jermaine Wattimena v Jimmy van Schie
Stephen Bunting v Cameron Menzies
Gian van Veen v Sebastian Bialecki
Michael van Gerwen v William O’Connor
Jonny Clayton v Damon Heta
Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith
Chris Dobey v Cristo Reyes
