The Northern European Baltic nation of Estonia became the latest destination for many of the WDF’s elite exponents, with its capital, Tallinn, once again playing host to a bustling weekend of high-calibre darting theatre.
After a gruelling couple of days – what one might reasonably surmise to be a fairly arduous expedition for most competitors – it was Aileen De Graaf who extracted maximum reward from her travels, sweeping up both the Ladies Estonia Open and Tallinn Open crowns in emphatic fashion.
The accomplished Dutch star battled her way to victory in both events, overcoming the unfortunate Kirsi Viinikainen in each final to secure her maiden – and swiftly subsequent second – titles on Estonian soil.
On the previous staging twelve months earlier, the Finnish thrower had triumphed in the Tallinn event while finishing runner-up to Paige Pauling in the other. This time, despite producing another pair of commendable runs, she was forced to settle for a brace of second-place finishes.
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It very nearly evolved into a memorable hat-trick of triumphs for the decorated 35-year-old Netherlander. However, alongside compatriot Mercedes Pieters in the doubles, De Graaf was narrowly denied, as Viinikainen joined forces with fellow Finn Anu Rasmus to claim that particular accolade and gain a small piece of retribution.
A surname steeped in darting recognition also found its way onto the honours list, with Van Duijvenbode capturing the Estonia Open title. Not the widely celebrated Dirk, but the lesser-known Mike – and, intriguingly, no relation. Remarkably, given the prodigious depth of Dutch talent, MVD – as we shall abbreviate – overcame Finland’s Jonas Masalin to become the first player from the Netherlands to lift this particular piece of WDF silverware since the tournament’s inception in 2004.
England, meanwhile, supplied the Tallinn Open champion, as Anthony Brown ensured the trophy would once again be returning to Blighty. The 34-year-old extended a frustrating narrative for Finnish darts followers – and indeed the players themselves – edging Petri Rasmus in a dramatic last-leg decider to claim the title. Remarkably, in what is only the fourth staging of this particular event, every single edition has now been claimed by an Englishman, underlining a curious yet emphatic pattern of success.
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In the Boys’ events, honours were shared between two promising young talents from different nations. Belgium’s Nigel Coudeville compounded Finland’s weekend frustrations with an emphatic victory over Mikael Jaronen to secure the Estonia title. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Benas Snieckus delivered a similarly commanding display, defeating Denmark’s Andreas Seemann 5-1 to clinch the Tallinn crown.
The Girls’ competitions culminated in identical finalists, with honours split between Amanda Kirilova and Marta Roga, both departing Estonia – after what was a comparatively short flight home – with silverware to their names.
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Below are all the results from each final.
ESTONIA OPEN: Mike van Duijvenbode (NED) 6-2 Jonas Masalin (FIN)
ESTONIA LADIES: Aileen De Graaf (NED) 6-5 Kirsi Viinikainen (FIN)
ESTONIA BOYS: Nigel Coudeville (BEL) 5-1 Mikael Jaronen (FIN)
ESTONIA GIRLS: Amanda Kirilova (LVA) 5-3 Marta Roga (LAT)
TALLINN OPEN: Anthony Brown (ENG) 6-5 Rasmus Petri (FIN)
TALLINN LADIES: Aileen De Graaf (NED) 6-4 Kirsi Viinikainen (FIN)
TALLINN BOYS: Benas Snieckus (LTU) 5-1 Andreas Seemann (DNK)
TALLINN GIRLS: Marta Roga (LAT) 5-1 Amanda Kirilova (LVA)
ESTONIA OPEN PAIRS:
Stefan Schroder/Johan Engstrom (NED/SWE) 5-2 Jimmi Nielson/Niels Joergen Hansen (DNK)
ESTONIA LADIES PAIRS:
Kirsi Viinikainen/Anu Rasmus (FIN) 5-3 Aileen De Graaf/Mercedes Pieters (NED)
——ENDS——
Images: WDF
