Majestic Menzies ends Barney’s hopes as Cullen and Wattimena ends in heated words
Majestic Menzies ends Barney’s hopes as Cullen and Wattimena ends in heated words
On the first day of the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship, which began on Friday, Cameron Menzies stunned Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld with a magnificent performance.
16 first-round matches were played over the course of two hours in Rosmalen on the first day of the PDC European Tour tournament, and Menzies stole the show to quiet the biassed local fans.
At one point, Menzies appeared set to set a record for the highest average ever. He converted back-to-back checkouts of 147, 100, and 129 to quickly take a 5-0 lead with an incredible 114 average.
Menzies missed four match darts in leg six, but Van Barneveld managed to escape the whitewash. Moments later, though, the mysterious Scot sealed the deal with a 103.87 average and five 180s to advance.
“I’m a darts fan first and foremost, so Barney is a legend to me,” insisted Menzies, who will play two-time World Champion Peter Wright in an all-Scottish tussle on Saturday evening.
“The atmosphere and the support the crowd gave him – I have never heard noise like that!
“I had nothing to lose tonight because it’s Barney in his home country, and I think that’s why I played so well.”
On an exciting day at the Autotron, six Dutch stars emerged victorious as Dirk van Duijvenbode resumed his winning ways in front of a large audience, despite Van Barneveld’s early elimination.
In 2024, after losing six straight matches on the European Tour, Van Duijvenbode easily defeated Callan Rydz in his opening match, hitting four maximums and averaging 95 to win 6-3.
In another incident, Kevin Doets overcame a 5-4 lead to deny Mike De Decker in a thrilling match dart, setting up an intriguing encounter versus hometown idol Michael van Gerwen.
In addition, Jermaine Wattimena triumphed in the decisive leg, overcoming Joe Cullen’s late comeback to advance in a contentious match. The pair traded heated words at the end of the contest. Cullen was fuming after as appeared that Wattimena fired up the home crowd as Cullen was about to throw.
In an impressive 6-3 triumph against Ryan Joyce, host nation qualifier Moreno Blom raised the roof, averaging over a tonne and nailing a pair of ton-plus finishes to set up a matchup with Chris Dobey.
On his debut, Marvin van Velzen defeated Christian Kist, the previous Lakeside champion, in a match amongst all Dutch competitors, while Niels Zonneveld prevailed over Haupai Puha of New Zealand in a final.
On the European Tour this year, UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh triumphed over Gabriel Clemens for the third time in a row. He did so by winning four straight legs after trailing 4-2 and finishing with a strong 102.93 average and 60% on the doubles.
After dominating Teemu Harju, a rookie from Finland, ten-time TV title winner James Wade increased his chances of qualifying for the World Matchplay. Ryan Searle will now face the left-hander in the second round.
The most impressive player of the afternoon was Dom Taylor, who defeated Jose de Sousa 6-3 and averaged 102. Ritchie Edhouse, on the other hand, crushed six 180s to defeat Jiri Brejcha, the Czech qualifier, by the same score.
In the penultimate leg of his comeback victory over Damian Mol, Andrew Gilding produced a skin-saving 164 finish. In a duel of the past UK Open champions, he will now play Danny Noppert.
With a valiant 6-3 victory over Owen Bates, Brendan Dolan maintained his hopes of qualifying for the World Cup; Mickey Mansell, Dolan’s compatriot, defeated a careless William O’Connor 6-2.
For his first win on the European Tour since 2018, Jeffrey de Graaf defeated Latvia’s Madars Razma, and Ryan Meikle wasted six match darts to lose a 4-1 lead against Luke Woodhouse.
Friday Results
Dom Taylor 6-3 Jose de Sousa
Ritchie Edhouse 6-3 Jiri Brejcha
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Madars Razma
Marvin van Velzen 6-5 Christian Kist
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Owen Bates
Mickey Mansell 6-2 William O’Connor
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Haupai Puha
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Damian Mol
Evening Session
James Wade 6-0 Teemu Harju
Moreno Blom 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Kevin Doets 6-5 Mike De Decker
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Joe Cullen
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Ryan Meikle
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Callan Rydz
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 Gabriel Clemens
Saturday Schedule
Saturday May 25
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Stephen Bunting v Jeffrey de Graaf
Daryl Gurney v Luke Woodhouse
Damon Heta v Ritchie Edhouse
Dave Chisnall v Niels Zonneveld
Jonny Clayton v Marvin Van Velzen
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jermaine Wattimena
Danny Noppert v Andrew Gilding
Ryan Searle v James Wade
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Chris Dobey v Moreno Blom
Gerwyn Price v Mickey Mansell
Josh Rock v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen v Kevin Doets
Martin Schindler v Brendan Dolan
Peter Wright v Cameron Menzies
Ross Smith v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gian van Veen v Dom Taylor
