Dirk van Duijvenbode continued his resurgence with a superb display on Day One of the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship, as Raymond van Barneveld also enjoyed a winning return on home soil.
Van Duijvenbode was one of four Dutch stars to triumph during an eventful opening day in Rosmalen, with Van Barneveld, Wessel Nijman and Jeffrey Sparidaans also celebrating victories.
On a day which saw 12 representatives from the Netherlands in action, Van Duijvenbode took centre stage with a six-leg blitz of Finland’s Teemu Harju.
The 32-year-old averaged 102.48 and converted a sensational 164 checkout to wrap up a whitewash win, and James Wade now awaits the enigmatic Dutchman on Saturday night.
Raymond van Barneveld was in fine form at the Dutch Darts Championship
Elsewhere, Van Barneveld was pushed all the way to a deciding-leg by qualifier Jerry Hendriks, but the five-time world champion kept his composure to prevail with a 97 average and five 180s.
Nijman also came through an all-Dutch clash against Berry van Peer, surviving three match darts in the penultimate leg to set up a tie with Peter Wright for a place in the last 16.
Sparidaans was the solitary host nation qualifier to advance on Friday, dispatching former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding 6-2 to create a showdown against fifth seed Damon Heta.
However, there was bitter disappointment for Gian van Veen and Wesley Plaisier, who suffered deciding-leg defeats against Boris Krcmar and Cameron Menzies respectively.
Krcmar averaged 100.86 to deny world youth champion Van Veen while Plaisier spurned six match darts in a gruelling encounter with Menzies, who now faces world No 1 Luke Humphries.
Jermaine Wattimena was also denied on home soil by the emerging Niko Springer, who averaged 99 to join his fellow countrymen Ricardo Pietreczko and Max Hopp in Saturday’s second round.
Pietreczko moved into the provisional qualification places for July’s World Matchplay with a resounding 6-1 success against Czechia’s Karel Sedlacek.
Hopp, meanwhile, recorded a hard-fought 6-3 win over Luke Woodhouse, but Lukas Wenig was unable to complete the clean sweep, losing 6-2 to a clinical Martin Lukeman.
Mickey Mansell booked his place in round two with victory over World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, in a contest which saw every leg go with throw.
De Decker’s compatriot Kim Huybrechts also succumbed in a decider against European Champion Ritchie Edhouse, although there was delight for an impressive Mario Vandenbogaerde.
The Belgian averaged 99.76 in his 6-4 win against Niels Zonneveld, while Daryl Gurney overcame Maik Kuivenhoven by the same scoreline to boost his hopes of World Matchplay qualification.
Ryan Joyce – also in the hunt for a place in July’s showpiece – survived match darts to win through a dramatic affair against the returning Jeffrey de Zwaan, while Ryan Meikle ran out a 6-1 winner against a profligate Joe Cullen.
The £175,000 tournament continues on Saturday, with the 16 seeded players entering the action for the second round – including reigning champion Josh Rock.
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