Hawkeye Kevin Doets swooped majestically into Göttingen and produced the tournament’s most scintillating display so far to launch his European Darts Trophy campaign in utterly resplendent fashion.
The Dutch-born, Swedish-based thrower delivered a spellbinding exhibition of surgical precision, dismantling Finnish challenger Jonas Masalin in a ruthless whitewash while registering an extraordinary 117.12 average. It was a performance brimming with authority, composure and devastating scoring cadence. Even more encouraging news for Doets, with Premier League leader Jonny Clayton – hot off his victory in Nottingham – opting to withdraw late from the tournament, Hawkeye will now face Cam Crabtree in the next round.
Absolutely no disrespect to the talented youngster from Croydon, but on paper the rankings suggest it represents a considerably kinder assignment than taking on a fully firing Ferret. While discussing late withdrawals, Luke Humphries also elected not to make the journey to Germany. As a consequence, the winner of the Friday evening clash between Willie O’Connor and Mensur Suljović will now face Czech number one Karel Sedlacek in the second round instead.
Proceedings in Lower Saxony began with an early surprise as former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding crashed out at the hands of Lithuania’s experienced campaigner Darius Labanauskas. Lucky D produced a composed and methodical display to dispatch Goldfinger and prematurely conclude the Englishman’s German excursion, setting up an intriguing encounter with Australia’s Damon Heta.
There were far fewer complications for Ricky Evans and Niels Zonneveld, who both navigated their assignments with relative comfort. Rapid Ricky eased past Florian Preis, while Zonneveld brushed aside Keane Barry with assured efficiency.
It proved a less enjoyable afternoon for the other Florian in the draw, Mr Hempel, who struggled to locate any sustained rhythm before eventually succumbing to Richard Veenstra. The Dutchman was not especially prolific in the scoring department, but his finishing was exquisitely clinical. For the Cologne native Hempel, the wait for another European Tour victory since 2024 frustratingly continues.
Evans now faces a fascinating Saturday showdown against fellow countryman Danny Noppert, while Zonneveld will be involved in an all Dutch encounter with none other than Michael van Gerwen.
The Göttingen crowd were then given a reason to celebrate as home representative Paul Krohne secured his maiden European Tour victory by overcoming Cameron Menzies. The 25-year old performing in his home country will now face Northern Ireland’s World Cup hero, Josh Rock in Saturday evening’s opener.
Former Lakeside champion Shane McGuirk was making his European Tour debut and was immediately presented with a formidable assignment against Krzysztof Ratajski, who famously triumphed on German soil at the 2023 German Darts Open.
At 5-1 ahead, it appeared the Polish Eagle would comfortably soar into the next round alongside another bird of prey monikered arrow-smith – Hawkeye, Kevin Doets.
However, McGuirk staged a spirited resurgence but squandered two darts to force a deciding leg. Ratajski graciously survived the scare to set up a meeting with Dutch number one Gian van Veen.
The afternoon session concluded with another shock as last year’s runner up Ryan Joyce was eliminated by Germany’s Lukas Wenig, much to the delight of the Lokhalle faithful. That victory sets up a compelling reunion with Jermaine Wattimena, recreating a Players Championship final from last season which the Machine Gun ultimately won.
For Wenig, he will believe revenge is a dish best served with home fans in his corner.After a brief intermission, the evening session resumes with Dave Chisnall facing Jeffrey De Zwaan.
With other former PDC major champions in Joe Cullen and Daryl Gurney also scheduled to appear, another enthralling night of tungsten theatre awaits in Göttingen.
EUROPEAN DARTS TROPHY (ET2)
Göttingen, Germany (13-15 March)
Friday Afternoon
Results
Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6-0 Jonas Masalin
Ricky Evans 6-0 Florian Preis
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Keane Barry
Paul Krohne 6-4 Cameron Menzies
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Florian Hempel
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Shane McGuirk
Lukas Wenig 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Friday Evening Session
Dave Chisnall v Jeffrey De Zwaan
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Mario Vandenbogaerde
Luke Woodhouse v Dragutin Horvat
Daryl Gurney v Sebastian Bialecki
Joe Cullen v Wojciech Brulinski
Niko Springer v Kai Gotthardt
William O’Connor v Mensur Suljović
Wessel Nijman v Cristo Reyes
Saturday Afternoon Session
Jermaine Wattimena v Lukas Wenig
Damon Heta v Darius Labanauskas
Danny Noppert v Ricky Evans
Ross Smith v Chisnall/De Zwaan
Rob Cross v van Duijvenbode/Vandenbogaerde
Mike De Decker v Nijman/Reyes
Chris Dobey v Woodhouse/Horvat
Ryan Searle v Gurney/Bialecki
Saturday Evening Session
Josh Rock v Paul Krohne
Gerwyn Price v Cullen/Brulinski
Martin Schindler v Richard Veenstra
Michael van Gerwen v Niels Zonneveld
Karel Sedlacek * v O’Connor/Suljović (*late replacement for Luke Humphries)
Gian van Veen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting v Springer/Gotthardt
Cam Crabtree * v Kevin Doets (*late replacement for Jonny Clayton)
—-Ends—–
Images: PDC
