The 2025 Dutch Darts Championship got underway in Rosmalen this afternoon, with eight players booking their spots in Saturday’s second-round bonanza.
Beginning the action, Ricardo Pietreczko – a surname that’d clean up in a game of Scrabble – also scored heavily on the oche, cruising to a 6–1 win over Czech chucker Karel Sedláček. The 2023 German Darts Champion will now look to dislodge current title-holder Josh Rock in round two. No pressure.
Wessel Nijman, the young-ish Dutch prospect (he’s 24, which is practically ancient on TikTok), staged a gritty comeback from 3–0 down to edge Berry van Peer in a last-leg decider. The Uitgeest thrower now faces nine time Euro Tour winner, Peter Wright, and will need to bring his best if he wants to match his previous Euro Tour high of a couple of quarter-final runs.
Martin Lukeman earned himself a crack at German number one Martin Schindler after dispatching Lukas Wenig 6–2. Smash, came close to continental glory in 2022, falling just short in the German Darts Grand Prix final to Luke Humphries. He’s always a threat, and Schindi will know that.
The match that followed Lukeman’s victory wasn’t pretty – in fact, at times it was borderline agricultural – but Ryan Joyce eventually crawled over the line in a last-leg decider against Jeffrey de Zwaan. Both men were way off their usual standards, averaging somewhere in the mid-80s, but Relentless won’t care. That said, with Michael Smith up next, he may need to relocate the treble 20.
Mario Vandenbogaerde strutted on to Chesney Hawkes’ timeless banger The One and Only – and true to form, he was indeed the only one of the pair to progress, seeing off Niels Zonneveld 6–4 with a tidy average just shy of a ton. Next stop: a meeting with Danny Noppert which will require more super stuff from Mario.
There was barely a dart’s width to separate reigning European Champion Ritchie Edhouse and two-time tour winner Kim Huybrechts – until the final leg, that is. In the end – after both missed match darts – it was Madhouse who ironically pinned the mad house to seal a tight victory. A few whistles from the crowd stirred the pot, leading to a little needle between the pair at the end. But when the dust settled, it was Ritchie Edhouse who had the last laugh – and he’ll now face Dave Chisnall in tomorrow’s second round. He’ll likely need to up his game, though – his average here barely scraped past the 80 mark.
Host nation qualifier, Jeffrey Sparidaans doubled his career tally of European Tour wins with a solid 6–2 victory over a very flat Andrew Gilding. Goldfinger was nowhere near as lethal as his Bond villain namesake, and the man who reached the final at the previous Euro Tour event bowed out meekly in round one this time. Sparidaans looked composed throughout and took full advantage of Gilding’s misfiring arrows. His reward? A second-round clash with the ever-smiling Aussie in the big red and yellow spongey hat – Damon Heta. Expect fireworks, or at the very least, colour.
And rounding off the afternoon session, Max Hopp skipped and jumped his way into round two with a 6–3 win over a lacklustre Luke Woodhouse. The Englishman looked about as comfortable as a sumo wrestler in a budget airline seat, and The Maximiser took full advantage, collecting his first Euro Tour win since August last year.
If Hopp wants to go any further, though, he’ll need to get past The Ferret himself – Jonny Clayton awaits in round two, and he rarely hands out free passes.
So, to summarise: three Englishmen, two Dutchmen, a couple of Germans and a Belgian walk into the Autotron on Saturday – which might sound like the start of a bad joke, but for the players who made it through today, the punchline is all theirs. And yes, they’re definitely the ones laughing.
ROUND ONE AFTERNOON SESSION RESULTS
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-1 Karel Sedlacek
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Berry van Peer
Martin Lukeman 6-2 Lukas Wenig
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Niels Zonneveld 4-6 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Andrew Gilding 2-6 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Luke Woodhouse 3-6 Max Hopp
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC Europe
