The fifth edition of the Czech Darts Open kicked off in Prague with a bang – and straight away we got a shock, arguably one of the biggest the Euro Tour has served up this year.
Highly fancied Ricardo Pietreczko, a former German Darts Championship winner, found himself dumped out at the very first hurdle by host-nation qualifier Benjamin Pratnemer.
Yes, yes – he’s Slovenian, not Czech – but he got in through the local route, so let’s not get picky. Benny threw his hat into the ring, then promptly lobbed Ricardo’s back out of it with a 6–4 win nobody had on their bingo card.
Now, let’s be honest: the world number 166 needed a helping hand – and I don’t mean blindfolding his German opponent, though the way Pikachu missed doubles you’d be forgiven for thinking his vision had been tampered with.
Still, at 46, Maribor-born Pratnemer can claim arguably the biggest win of his career. Next up, a crack at Peter Wright. Imagine if he knocks out Snakey too – they’ll be building him a statue back in the village square.
After witnessing that opening game carnage, the favourites suddenly started treating the stage like it was covered in banana skins – cautious, careful, and determined not to join Ricardo in the early flight home club.
Latvian number one Madars Razma dodged his own upset, seeing off Czech qualifier Lukas Unger.
Andrew Gilding – never knowingly in a hurry – crawled over the line in a last-leg decider against Lucky D, Darius Labanauskas who was anything but his moniker.
To be fair, Goldfinger should’ve been home with his slippers on long before that, but the doubles were playing hide-and-seek. He now runs into Smudger Smith.
Speaking of doubles, step forward Cameron Menzies – a man who enjoys a few after a shift on the oche – who produced a superb performance to knock out Ian Diamond White, complete with a ton average. The reward? A date with Luke Littler. Good luck with that, Cammie.
Jermaine Wattimena and Brendan Dolan gave us a match best described as… er…okay. The Machine Gun sprayed slightly less inaccurately than The History Maker, so Jermaine marches on to meet Chris Dobey.
Ryan Joyce broke local hearts by sending national hero Karel Sedlacek packing. It wasn’t exactly a scoring clinic, but Joyce finished sharply when it mattered. He’ll face The Ferret, Jonny Clayton, next.
William O’Connor beating Woodhouse doesn’t register as an upset – only about a dozen spots separate them in the rankings – but what a game. Proper entertainment, proper quality, and it went all the way. Still, Woody won’t be thrilled about coughing up a 4–1 lead to the man from Limerick. Too late now, Luke. Willie? You’ve got Josh Rock next. Sweet dreams.
And to wrap up the afternoon session, Wessel Nijman nicked a deciding leg against compatriot Richard Veenstra. Wes scored better, Richard was stronger on the doubles – and in the end, Nijman just about shaded it. Damon Heta awaits.
Plenty more carnage to come in the evening session. Strap in – the first round isn’t done with us yet.
Czech Darts Open 2025
First Round – Friday 5 September
Ricardo Pietreczko 4-6 Benjamin Pratnemer
Madars Razma 6-3 Lukas AngerAndrew Gilding 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Cameron Menzies 6-3 Ian White
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Luke Woodhouse 5-6 William O’Connor
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Richard Veenstra
Evening Session (19:00 local / 18:00 BST)
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Cor Dekker
Ryan Searle vs Filip Manak
Daryl Gurney vs Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen vs Maik Kuivenhoven
Raymond van Barneveld vs Krzysztof Ratajski
Nathan Aspinall vs Jiri Brejcha
Mike De Decker vs Ritchie Edhouse
Joe Cullen vs Niko Springer
Second Round – Saturday, September 6
Afternoon Session (13:00 / 12:00 BST)
(12) Ross Smith vs Andrew Gilding
(16) Martin Schindler vs Madars Razma
(9) Damon Heta vs Wessel Nijman
(6) Chris Dobey vs Jermaine Wattimena
(15) Danny Noppert vs Van Veen/Kuivenhoven
(11) Dave Chisnall vs Searle/Manak
(13) Peter Wright vs Benjamin Pratnemer
(10) Jonny Clayton vs Ryan Joyce
Evening Session (19:00 / 18:00 BST)
(8) Rob Cross vs Van Barneveld/Ratajski
(7) Gerwyn Price vs Cullen/Springer
(4) Stephen Bunting vs Gurney/Doets
(5) James Wade vs Aspinall/Brejcha
(1) Luke Humphries vs Van Duijvenbode/Dekker
(2) Luke Littler vs Cameron Menzies
(3) Michael van Gerwen vs De Decker/Edhouse
(14) Josh Rock vs William O’Connor
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC Europe
