Martin Schindler opened his defence of the Elten Safety Shoes International Darts Open with a sparkling display in Riesa, on a day which saw Thibault Tricole create French darting history.
Day One of the year’s third European Tour event began with a bang at the WT Energiesysteme Arena, as reigning champion Schindler headlined on home soil.
The German number one kicked off his campaign with a comprehensive 6-2 win against Thomas Lovely, averaging 102.68 and landing five maximums to cap off a classy all-round performance.
Schindler is now guaranteed a place at Finals Day on Sunday, after his scheduled second round opponent Rob Cross withdrew from the event earlier in the afternoon.
Tricole, meanwhile, became the first French player to register a victory on the European Tour stage, wrapping up a fine 6-3 win against 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith to achieve the milestone.
“I have been waiting for this win for a long time,” claimed Tricole, who will face Dimitri Van den Bergh for a place in the last 16 on Saturday.
“To get this victory against Michael Smith – a legend of darts – this is perfect for me, and I will really enjoy this moment.”
Friday’s first round saw 16 matches take place across two sessions, as Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld rolled back the years with a vintage display in Riesa.
The five-time World Champion averaged 103.43 to sweep aside Host Nation Qualifier Patrick Klingelhoefer 6-1, which sets up a second round clash with fifth seed Jonny Clayton.
“Jonny is an amazing player and a great guy as well,” reflected Van Barneveld.
“I’m really happy with that performance. I am feeling confident with my set-up, and I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow night.”
Van Barneveld’s young compatriots Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman also advanced by the same 6-1 scoreline, courtesy of thumping wins over Paul Goyer and Radek Szaganski respectively.
Dirk van Duijvenbode joined his fellow countrymen in round two, crashing in six 180s to deny home favourite Niko Springer in a high-quality encounter, with both players averaging north of 101.
However, Jermaine Wattimena suffered an early exit at the hands of Czech star Karel Sedlacek, who won four straight legs from 3-2 down to secure his first European Tour victory of the campaign.
Mario Vandenbogaerde and Luke Woodhouse also celebrated comeback wins over Callan Rydz and Matt Campbell, each reeling off five consecutive legs to seal their progress.
Ryan Searle was another high-profile casualty on Day One, as Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas averaged 102 on his way to a terrific 6-3 victory against the world number 19.
Mike De Decker defeated Daniel Klose by the same scoreline in Friday’s penultimate tie, and the Belgian’s reward is a blockbuster second round showdown with four-time champion Gerwyn Price.
Joe Cullen – also a winner of the International Darts Open back in 2020 – breezed past Rob Owen 6-1 to return to winning ways on the big stage, and he will now take on Nathan Aspinall, a winner in Gottingen less than a fortnight ago.
Ricardo Pietreczko punished a profligate display from Krzysztof Ratajski to prevail in a battle of the former European Tour winners, while Cameron Menzies landed a brace of ton-plus finishes in a whitewash win over Kevin Knopf.
Elsewhere, Andrew Gilding averaged almost 99 in his 6-3 success against William O’Connor, as European Champion Ritchie Edhouse came through an entertaining affair against Czech debutant Petr Krivka.
Saturday’s second round will see the PDC Order of Merit Qualifiers enter the action in Riesa, with world number one Luke Humphries and Price amongst the star attractions.
Live coverage from the International Darts Open will be streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through the DAZN Darts channel on Pluto TV.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ worldwide.
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 Elten Safety Shoes International Darts Open
Friday April 4
First Round
Afternoon Session
Wessel Nijman 6-1 Radek Szaganski
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-4 Callan Rydz
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Petr Krivka
Cameron Menzies 6-0 Kevin Knopf
Andrew Gilding 6-3 William O’Connor
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Matt Campbell
Gian van Veen 6-1 Paul Goyer
Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Ryan Searle
Evening Session
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Patrick Klingelhoefer
Thibault Tricole 6-3 Michael Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Niko Springer
Martin Schindler 6-2 Thomas Lovely
Mike De Decker 6-3 Daniel Klose
Joe Cullen 6-1 Rob Owen
Saturday April 5
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
James Wade v Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert v Karel Sedlacek
Ross Smith v Ricardo Pietreczko
Damon Heta v Mario Vandenbogaerde
Chris Dobey v Wessel Nijman
Stephen Bunting v Darius Labanauskas
Dave Chisnall v Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Thibault Tricole
Jonny Clayton v Raymond van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price v Mike De Decker
Luke Humphries v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Richard Veenstra v Andrew Gilding
Peter Wright v Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall v Joe Cullen
Josh Rock v Gian van Veen
Martin Schindler Bye (Rob Cross withdrew after the event began)
——ENDS—–
Images: Johannes Michel/PDC Europe
