Defeat for Van Barneveld & Anderson as Dutch Darts Championship begins

Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson suffered defeats on the opening day of the Dutch Darts Championship in Leeuwarden on Friday.

Competing on home soil, Van Barneveld went down 6-3 to Premier League star Dimitri Van den Bergh, while Gary Anderson suffered a shock 6-2 loss to Czech youngster Roman Benecky on his first European Tour appearance in almost seven years.

Dutch legend Van Barneveld was unable to delight the partisan crowd at WTC Leeuwarden, as Van den Bergh posted a sublime 105.62 average to advance to round two.

“This win means a lot to me against one of the best players in the world,” said Van den Bergh, who will take on Ryan Searle in Saturday’s second round.

“He is the man who brought darts to life in the Netherlands, I have so much respect for him and I watched him play since I was a kid.

‘To play him here isn’t easy; the ‘Barney Army’ were fantastic as always but I had a job to do tonight and I’m glad I did it.”

Meanwhile, a disappointing display from Anderson saw him average just 87.66 as Benecky took full advantage to set up a second round meeting with Martin Schindler.

The opening day of the year’s sixth European Tour event saw 16 first round ties played across two sessions, with the winners progressing to face one of the 16 seeded players in Saturday’s second round.

A ruthless display from European Champion Ross Smith saw him post a ton-plus average in whitewashing Jermaine Wattimena on home soil.

Berry van Peer was the sole Dutch winner on the opening day, as he overcame Alan Soutar 6-2 in an impressive display.

Steve Beaton came through a high-quality affair with Kim Huybrechts, closing out a 6-4 victory to set up a clash against fourth seed Damon Heta.

Last weekend’s European Tour semi-finalist Daryl Gurney continued his resurgence as he averaged 101 and landed three ton-plus finishes in dispatching Ricardo Pietreczko 6-2.

A clinical display from Gabriel Clemens saw the German number one edge out Gian van Veen in a last-leg decider to set up a clash with Michael van Gerwen in round two.

Recent Players Championship event winner Krzysztof Ratajski defeated Andy Boulton 6-4 to set up a meeting with Peter Wright, while Irish youngster Dylan Slevin whitewashed Marcel Hausotter 6-0 to record his first European Tour win.

2018 Dutch Darts Championship winner Ian White ran out a 6-2 winner against Arron Monk, while Stephen Bunting whitewashed Adam Smith-Neale to move through to a second round clash against Joe Cullen.

Madars Razma averaged 103 to defeat John O’Shea and claim his first European Tour win of 2023, while Graham Hall enjoyed a dream debut in Leeuwarden, whitewashing UK Open semi-finalist Adam Gawlas.

Elsewhere, Jim Williams averaged over 104 to complete a 6-1 success against George Killington, while Keane Barry and Martin Lukeman dumped out Marko Kantele and Martijn Dragt respectively.

The 16 seeded players enter the tournament in Saturday’s second round, with three of the world’s top four, Michael Smith, Wright and Van Gerwen amongst the big names in action.

The tournament is being broadcast live on Viaplay, DAZN and PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ websites worldwide.

Click here for Day One match stats.

2023 Dutch Darts Championship

Schedule of Play

Friday April 28

First Round

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Graham Hall 6-0 Adam Gawlas

Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Andy Boulton

Berry van Peer 6-2 Alan Soutar

Madars Razma 6-3 John O’Shea

Keane Barry 6-2 Marko Kantele

Jim Williams 6-1 George Killington