Amsterdam played host to the third PDC World Series of the year, as the Dutch Darts Masters kicked off on Friday.
Michael Smith won the US Darts Masters at the start of the month, with Dimitri van den Bergh winning the other World Series in Copenhagen after beating Gary Anderson in the Final.
Michael van Gerwen returned to action since winning the Premier League nearly two weeks ago, with surgery to his throwing hand keeping him out of the World Cup and the two Players Championship Events held in Hildesheim just before.
The former, Three -Time, World Champion was knocked out however by fellow Winmau star Danny Noppert 6-4, with the Freeze treating the home crowd to six maximums in averaging 97.90 in Amsterdam.
The UK Open champion missed seven darts at double checking out at 46.15%, with van Gerwen missing just two from six darts at double. Both Dutchmen also included ton plus checkouts in the match, with Mighty Mike hitting the highest at 141 in the second leg to get his first leg on the board.
The first five legs all went with throw and the sixth leg saw the 31-year-old from Joure break his compatriot for the first time, finding the bullseye to complete a 90 checkout and take a 4-2 lead on the oche.
The World Number 3 broke straight back with a 72 finish but could not turn the tide as the former Lakeside finalist closed out victory on double eight, finishing 25 after van Gerwen hit seven on his first dart at double sixteen as he tried to finish 35.
Vincent van der Voort will be the Freeze’s second round opponent, after The Dutch Destroyer send World Number 2 Gerwyn Price packing in a last leg thriller on stage. The Winmau man averaged 96.07 in a 6-5 win over the Welshman who a week ago was representing his country at the World Cup, where they lost in the Final to team Australia.
The Iceman broke his opponent in the very first leg, as he hit 73 to lead 1-0 in what was his highest checkout in the tungsten tussle. The 46-year-old Dutchman has appeared in the Quarter Finals at the Ally Pally on a couple of occasions, showing why he’s gone far in the biggest tournament in Darts as he missed just five darts at double and threw the only ton plus checkout in the eighth leg to find his second break of throw.
Van der Voort hit double eighteen to complete a 102 checkout as he levelled the match at 4-4, before winning the match on double six with his first dart after missing double twelve for a 125 check out in the previous visit. One of six Dutch players to make it through on the opening day in a very strong showing in Amsterdam.
Reigning World Champion Peter Wright was beaten in the final match of the night, losing 6-3 to Dutch World Cup representative Dirk van Duijvenbode who despite averaging lower than the World Number 1, goes through to the Quarter Finals on the back of six maximums in his home country.
Another Dutch Quarter Final looms in the tournament with The Titan through to face Martijn Kleermaker who also threw six maximums, in beating US Darts Masters champion Michael Smith 6-4 missing just two darts at double recording a double percentage rate of 75%.
Nordic Darts Masters champion Dimitri van den Bergh beat Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 with a 94.51 average, breaking throw in the opening leg and the seventh leg to send The Bomb out early in front of his home fans. The Dream Maker will face Jermaine Wattimena in the Quarter Finals, after The Machine Gun clinched a last leg decider against former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton.
Action continues PDC TV tonight with the Quarter Finals on the oche tonight, as 6 out of the 8 players are Dutch looking to win a World Series title in their home countries. Dirk van Duijvenbode and Martijn Kleermaker are first up in Amsterdam as both look to reach the Semi Finals
Dutch Darts Masters 2022:
Round 1 Results
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-1 Fallon Sherrock
James Wade (4) 6-2 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Martijn Kleermaker 6-4 Michael Smith (1)
Dimitri van den Bergh (2) 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Danny Noppert 6-4 Michael van Gerwen (3)
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Peter Wright
Quarter Finals: Order of Play
Martijn Kleermaker v Dirk van Duijvenbode
James Wade (4) v Maik Kuivenhoven
Dimitri van den Bergh (2) v Jermaine Wattimena
Danny Noppert v Vincent van der Voort
—–ENDS—-
Images: Kais Bodensieck / PDC Europe
