Nathan Aspinall and Gian van Veen produced stellar displays to reach the last 16 at the 2026 Bl\u00e5kl\u00e4der Flanders Darts Trophy last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day Two of the 13th European Tour event of 2026 continued at the Antwerp Expo, with Aspinall producing the performance of the day during his 6-1 thrashing of Niko Springer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German Darts Grand Prix champion produced a sparkling 106 average in demolishing the German, hitting four maximums and missing just one dart at double in a fantastic display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a great performance,\u201d said Aspinall, who will take on Stephen Bunting in a titanic clash on Finals Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI saw a stat that said I\u2019ve been playing the fourth best for a couple of months, so tonight I tried to not\u00a0put pressure on myself and enjoy it and I put in a great performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI finished really well, scored really well, gave the crowd something to cheer about and happy days – onto tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen Bunting awaits Aspinall, as the former Masters champion pipped Brendan Dolan in a last-leg decider and defied a 101 average from his opponent to bolster his European Championship hopes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Veen also starred in his 6-3 triumph over Gabriel Clemens, setting up an all-Dutch clash with Kevin Doets on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dutch number one produced an average in excess of 101 and struck 60% of his attempts at double, including combination finishes of 143, 82 and 64 to reach his fourth consecutive European Tour Finals Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a close game, but this one gives me so much confidence,\u201d assessed Van Veen, who defied an average of 98.81 from the German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know I can produce the same numbers as I have done the last year. I hope to do that this year and I feel it\u2019s coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known Kevin from probably when I was 10 or 11 years old. It\u2019s going to be a great game, Kevin is a great player and in very good form this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doets reached Finals Day after a hard-fought 6-5 win over Krzysztof Ratajaki, where the Dutchman was made to survive a match dart from the Polish number one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gerwyn Price also secured his spot in the last 16 with a fine performance, averaging over 103 to dispatch Bradley Brooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price will face Ross Smith in a tantalising contest in prospect, with the former European Champion averaging north of a ton in his 6-3 victory over Swedish number one Jeffrey de Graaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damon Heta dumped out an off-colour Michael van Gerwen 6-5 after all 11 legs went on throw, and the Australian number one faces a last 16 tie against Luke Woodhouse, who saw off William O\u2019Connor 6-3 with a clinical display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rob Cross ended Martin Schindler\u2019s hopes of World Grand Prix qualification with a 6-4 victory, as the former World Champion will take on James Wade after the three-time UK Open winner defeated Canada\u2019s Jim Long 6-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jermaine Wattimena denied Karel Sedlacek a World Grand Prix debut with a 6-3 win, while the Dutchman is rewarded with a last 16 clash against Ryan Joyce who stunned Josh Rock with a typically clinical performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan Searle ended home hopes by reeling off six straight legs to down Andy Baetens 6-2, setting up a last 16 showdown with Chris Dobey, who breezed past a profligate Niels Zonneveld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wessel Nijman will go head-to-head with Danny Noppert on Sunday, as the Dutch duo defeated Sebastian Bialecki and Chris Landman respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2026 Bl\u00e5kl\u00e4der Flanders Darts Trophy reaches its climax in Antwerp on Sunday, as the remaining 16 players battle it out for the \u00a335,000 top prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Results Ross Smith 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf Nathan Aspinall and Gian van Veen produced stellar displays to reach the last 16 at the 2026 Bl\u00e5kl\u00e4der<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-15664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Round Two
Afternoon Session
<\/strong>Kevin Doets 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Rob Cross 6-4 Martin Schindler
Danny Noppert 6-2 Chris Landman
Ryan Searle 6-2 Andy Baetens
Chris Dobey 6-1 Niels Zonneveld
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 William O’Connor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Ryan Joyce 6-3 Josh Rock
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Bradley Brooks
James Wade 6-2 Jim Long
Gian van Veen 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Damon Heta 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Niko Springer
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Wessel Nijman 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"