The Netherlands shone on the opening day of the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts, as mutltiple Dutchman produced noteworthy displays in Wolverhampton.
Day One of the unique £650,000 event saw 16 round-robin matches take place across a bumper double session at WV Active Aldersley, with a quartet of Dutch victories led by former champion MVG.
The three-time Grand Slam champion Van Gerwen ran out a convincing winner in his opener, pinning five of his ten attempts at double to whitewash debutant Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Gian van Veen and Stephen Bunting produced stand-out performances in Group H, kicking off their campaigns with sensational wins over Josh Rock and Wessel Nijman respectively.
Van Veen (pictured) averaged 110.79 to complete a superb 5-2 victory over 2023 quarter-finalist Rock, converting 126 and 127 checkouts alongside legs of 10, 11 and 12 darts.
Meanwhile, 2023 semi-finalist Bunting won through a thrilling last-leg tie against Nijman, defying a 106.51 average from the Dutch debutant to triumph on his Wolverhampton return.
European Championship finalist Wattimena maintained his fine form, averaging 104.32 in seeing off World Grand Prix champion De Decker. The Machione Gun will lock horns with Micjael Smith for top spot in Group E on Sunday.
Earlier in the afternoon, Danny Noppert had kicked off his sixth Grand Slam campaign with a 5-2 success against two-time Women’s World Matchplay champion Beau Greaves.
Noppert will face an in-form Cameron Menzies on Sunday afternoon, after the Scottish star defeated German number one Martin Schindler by the same scoreline in the other Group B tussle.
Later the same day Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson will renew their rivalry in a blockbuster Group G showdown after the Scot averaged 113 in his opener.
The 2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts
Schedule of Play
Saturday November 9
Afternoon Session
Group Stage x8 – Groups B-C-D-H First Matches
Stephen Bunting 5-4 Wessel Nijman (H)
Gian van Veen 5-2 Josh Rock (H)
Connor Scutt 5-0 Dave Chisnall (D)
Danny Noppert 5-2 Beau Greaves (B)
Cameron Menzies 5-2 Martin Schindler (B)
Rob Cross 5-2 Leonard Gates (C)
Martin Lukeman 5-0 Peter Wright (C)
Ritchie Edhouse 5-1 Ross Smith (D)
Evening Session
Group Stage x8 – Groups A-E-F-G First Matches
Mickey Mansell 5-3 James Wade (A)
Gary Anderson 5-1 Ryan Joyce (G)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-1 Lourence Ilagan (F)
Michael Smith 5-2 Mensur Suljovic (E)
Michael van Gerwen 5-0 Noa-Lynn van Leuven (G)
Luke Littler 5-0 Keane Barry (F)
Rowby-John Rodriguez 5-3 Luke Humphries (A)
Jermaine Wattimena 5-2 Mike De Decker (E)
—–ENDS—–
Images: Kieran Cleeves/PDC
