Gian van Veen produced one of the greatest performances in European Tour history on Saturday evening in Maastricht, averaging a staggering 120.24 to whitewash Sebastian Bialecki and shatter the previous record.
The Dutchman took just nine minutes and 47 seconds to race through the last-16 tie at the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship, eclipsing Dave Chisnall’s long-standing mark of 118.66 set in 2018.
Van Veen, the defending European Championship title holder, is now firmly in the mix to defend his crown in Dortmund next weekend.
“I’m tired!” Van Veen said afterwards. “I knew I was playing well, I wanted to hit that bullseye in that last leg.
“The average is nice, it’s fantastic to have that record, but it’s another win and that’s what matters. It shows that I’ve still got it in my locker, I’m still here.”
Earlier in the day Martin Schindler booked his place at the European Championship with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Karel Sedlacek.
The German number one, level with the Czech in the rankings going into the match, opened with a brilliant 164 checkout and later admitted the win carried heavy emotional weight after a difficult few months.
“I’m feeling emotional. It was a really, really important win for me today. I am so happy,” Schindler said. “I’m not in the very best phase at the moment, so I need to fight for every win… I looked fear in the eye, and I won.”
Sedlacek now faces a nervous wait, with only Brendan Dolan still able to push him out of the qualifying places. Dolan had earlier seen off Heine Uuldriks 6-4 and will face Van Veen in the last 16.
Stephen Bunting also secured his Dortmund berth at the eleventh hour, defeating already-qualified Cameron Menzies 6-2.
The sixth seed was clinical on the doubles, landing six of ten attempts, and in the process knocked Kim Huybrechts out of contention.
“There are a lot of demons in my head, people doubt me but I know how good I can be,” Bunting reflected.
“For the last few weeks I have been nervous… but thankfully I won tonight.”
Elsewhere Nathan Aspinall ended Michael Smith’s qualification hopes with a 6-1 thrashing, averaging over 102, while home favourites Wessel Nijman and Danny Noppert progressed with wins over Jeffrey de Graaf and Dave Chisnall respectively.
Niels Zonneveld survived a last-leg decider against Krzysztof Ratajski, hitting seven maximums for the second match running, and Jermaine Wattimena comfortably saw off host-nation qualifier Jimmy van Schie.
There was disappointment for Michael van Gerwen as William O’Connor produced three ton-plus checkouts (136, 131 and 121) to edge a 6-5 thriller.
Ranking leader Ross Smith and Ryan Searle both advanced and will meet in the last 16, Damon Heta averaged over 103 in a 6-1 demolition of Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price returned successfully with a 6-3 win over Scott Williams, and Cristo Reyes closed the evening in style with a 110-plus average in a 6-2 victory over Chris Dobey.
Sunday’s last-16 line-up (Afternoon Session, 13:00 local)
Gian van Veen v Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle v Ross Smith
William O’Connor v Luke Woodhouse
Danny Noppert v Jermaine Wattimena
Gerwyn Price v Niels Zonneveld
Wessel Nijman v Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta v Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting v Nathan Aspinall
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final follow in the evening session. Coverage is available on Viaplay (Netherlands), DAZN (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), CANAL+ (Poland) and PDCTV (excluding selected territories), plus selected bookmakers worldwide.
Images: Kelly Deckers / PDC Europe
