Dimitri Van den Bergh produced a devastating display to light up the opening day of the NEO.bet European Darts Open, as Michael Smith edged out James Wade in a dramatic last-leg decider in Leverkusen.
Van den Bergh claimed his second PDC ranking title of 2024 at Players Championship 12 in Hildesheim last week, and the Belgian marked his return to German soil with a 6-1 demolition of Ryan Meikle.
Trailing 4-0, Meikle opened his account with a terrific 121 checkout, only for Van den Bergh to respond with successive legs of 10 and 11 darts to triumph with a 109.45 average and an 85% checkout success rate.
“I know Ryan very well. He’s a great player, but I felt good tonight,” reflected the UK Open champion, who now faces Dutch Darts champion Josh Rock for a place in round three.
“I am in a good place. I know I can play good darts, so I’ve been trying to enjoy my game a little bit more, and it seems to be paying off!”
Friday’s action saw 16 first round matches take place at the Ostermann-Arena, as Smith defied a trio of ton-plus checkouts from Wade to prevail in a high-quality encounter.
Smith survived a match dart at the bull to deal a significant blow to Wade’s hopes of World Matchplay qualification, despite the left-hander converting 102, 121 and 125 finishes earlier in the match.
“I know when Wadey is at his best, there is nobody better at finishing in the world,” admitted Smith, who will renew his rivalry with fourth seed Rob Cross on Saturday evening.
“You have to punish him [Wade] on the scoring which I did at times, but luckily enough he gave me that one shot I needed, and now I’m coming back tomorrow.”
RVB survives
Raymond van Barneveld also survived match darts to deny Krzysztof Ratajski in a compelling contest, pinning six of his 11 attempts at double to set up a fascinating showdown against top seed Luke Humphries.
The five-time world champion turned on the style in the closing stages, following up a 14-dart hold with a clinical 64 kill in the decider to register his second victory over Ratajski in eight meetings.
Van Barneveld’s compatriot Dirk van Duijvenbode impressed in his opener, dumping out German number two Gabriel Clemens to move through to a meeting with Gerwyn Price, in a repeat of last year’s final.
Van Duijvenbode reeled off five consecutive legs from 3-1 down to cap off a clinical performance, which saw him conjure up a mesmerising 170 checkout while hitting six of his seven attempts at a double.
Despite Clemens’ early exit, Kevin Troppmann delighted the home crowd with a last-leg victory against Benjamin Pratnemer, recovering from 4-0 down and sealing his progress with a roof-raising 167 finish.
2024 NEO.bet European Darts Open
Friday June 21
First Round
Afternoon Session
- Dom Taylor 6-3 Radek Szaganski
- Karel Sedlacek 6-3 Matthew Dennant
- Dylan Slevin 6-4 Jamie Hughes
- Kevin Doets 6-3 Nico Blum
- Ritchie Edhouse 6-0 Jan Dueckers
- Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Andrew Gilding
- Andy Baetens 6-5 Nathan Rafferty
- Daryl Gurney 6-0 Marko Kantele
Evening Session
- Kevin Troppmann 6-5 Benjamin Pratnemer
- Owen Bates 6-4 Joe Cullen
- Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Michael Smith 6-5 James Wade
- Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Mike De Decker
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 Ryan Meikle
- Callan Rydz Bye (Nico Kurz withdrew through illness)
Saturday June 22
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
- Gian van Veen v Andy Baetens
- Stephen Bunting v Kevin Troppmann
- Damon Heta v Dom Taylor
- Ryan Searle v Daryl Gurney
- Chris Dobey v Jeffrey de Graaf
- Dave Chisnall v Luke Woodhouse
- Ross Smith v Callan Rydz
- Ricardo Pietreczko v Kevin Doets
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
- Danny Noppert v Owen Bates
- Rob Cross v Michael Smith
- Gerwyn Price v Dirk Van Duijvenbode
- Michael van Gerwen v Dylan Slevin
- Martin Schindler v Karel Sedlacek
- Luke Humphries v Raymond van Barneveld
- Peter Wright v Ritchie Edhouse
- Josh Rock v Dimitri Van den Bergh