Dirk van Duijvenbode landed an incredible nine-dart leg (Photo by Sebastian Doppstadt/PDC Europe)
Dirk van Duijvenbode landed an incredible nine-dart leg to light up the opening day of the Elten Safety Shoes German Darts Championship in Hildesheim.
Van Duijvenbode produced perfection against Karel Sedlacek on a high-quality day of Round One action, as the final European Tour event of 2025 began at Halle 39.
The Dutchman conjured up the magical nine-darter in leg four of the contest, before following up a 116 finish with a match-winning 135 on the bull to win through a captivating affair against the Czech number one.
“This is a big dream coming true,” admitted Van Duijvenbode, who averaged 101 in advancing to a clash against Chris Dobey in Round Two.
“I have hit three nine-darters this year, but I’ve always wanted to hit one on a stage, because those really count. It’s such a relief to hit my first nine-darter on the big stage, so I am very happy of course!”
The race for European Championship qualification also dominated the headlines on Day One in Hildesheim, with this weekend’s event marking the cut-off for the 32-player showpiece in Dortmund.
Krzysztof Ratajski boosted his hopes of qualification with a 6-1 success against Felix Springer – the younger brother of recent European Tour winner Niko.
Ratajski came into the weekend occupying the final provisional spot in the field, and a clinical doubling display saw him overhaul Andrew Gilding on the European Tour rankings.
Gilding faces a nervous wait to discover if he has done enough to book his spot in Dortmund, after succumbing 6-4 to William O’Connor, who remains in the hunt for a European Championship place.
O’Connor’s reward is a tussle against German number one Martin Schindler for a place in the last 16, with the Irishman needing to reach at least the semi-finals to preserve his qualification hopes.
Rob Cross is also yet to confirm his qualification, and the two-time European Champion faces Cameron Menzies on Saturday, after the Scot dumped out Wesley Plaisier in his opener.
However, Joe Cullen will miss out on the European Championship for the first time in a decade following his 6-2 defeat to Ricky Evans, who will take on Josh Rock in what promises to be a quick-fire contest.
German number two Ricardo Pietreczko will play reigning champion Peter Wright in a repeat of the 2023 final on Saturday afternoon, after overcoming Radek Szaganski in a hard-fought encounter.
However, 2019 winner Daryl Gurney suffered a chastening 6-2 defeat to Christian Kist, who reeled off six consecutive legs to book a showdown with sixth seed Gerwyn Price on Saturday night.
Jermaine Wattimena maintained his terrific form at Halle 39, averaging almost 106 to prevail by the same 6-2 scoreline against Irish star Keane Barry.
Wattimena – fresh from clinching his second ProTour title on Tuesday – goes up against second seed James Wade in Round Two, having taken out 101, 116 and 121 finishes in an eye-catching display.
Nathan Aspinall also produced an exhibition of finishing in his 6-3 success against debutant Maximilian Czerwinski, converting 84, 85, 90, 99, 116 and 160 checkouts to triumph with a 103 average and extend his lead at the top of the European Tour rankings.
Ryan Joyce was another stand-out performer on Day One, averaging 104.24 in his victory over Justin Hood, which sets up an intriguing showdown against top seed Stephen Bunting.
Dutch duo Wessel Nijman and Niels Zonneveld also eased through to Saturday’s action with convincing 6-2 wins against Martin Kramer and Darius Labanauskas respectively.
Nijman will take on Belgian number one Mike De Decker for a place in the last 16, while Zonneveld faces his fellow countryman Gian van Veen in Saturday’s curtain-raiser.
Raymond van Barneveld joined his fellow countrymen in Round Two, battling past Host Nation representative Kevin Troppmann to progress to a meeting with third seed Jonny Clayton.
There was relief for Gabriel Clemens and Steve Lennon, who registered their first European Tour wins of the season following 6-2 successes against Tomislav Rosandic and Jeffrey de Graaf respectively.
Dave Chisnall – currently battling to qualify for the European Championship – awaits Clemens, with Australian number one Heta representing the next obstacle in Lennon’s path.
Elsewhere, Luke Woodhouse is set to tackle Danny Noppert in a battle of the recent European Tour finalists, after backing up a 110 finish with a 13-darter to halt the resistance of Tom Bissell earlier in the afternoon.
RESULTS
First Round: Cameron Menzies 6-4 Wesley Plaisier; Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Darius Labanauskas; Steve Lennon 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf; Wessel Nijman 6-2 Martin Kramer; Ryan Joyce 6-2 Justin Hood; Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Tom Bissell; Krzysztof Ratajski 6-1 Felix Springer; William O’Connor 6-4 Andrew Gilding; Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 Keane Barry; Christian Kist 6-2 Daryl Gurney; Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 Radek Szaganski; Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Karel Sedlacek; Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Kevin Troppmann; Ricky Evans 6-2 Joe Cullen; Gabriel Clemens 6-2 Tomislav Rosandic; Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Maximilian Czerwinski
