Last year's men's champion Mark McGeeney is not going to defend his title at the Dutch Open Darts. 'The Gladiator' moved to the PDC and claimed his Tour Card at the Q-School. Three-time Lakeside-champion Glen Durrant has undergone the same fate.
Jim Williams - the new BDO number one - is also absent. This means Wesley Harms is the highest ranked BDO player at the Dutch Open. 'Sparky' faces the winner of the match between Kenneth Hosten and Jeffrey Aardenburg in the second round. Richard Veenstra, Scott Mitchell, Michael Unterbuchner and Chris Landman are the other top ten BDO players in Assen.
Most of the ladies stars joined the field for the women's tournament. Four-time ladies world champion has entered the Dutch Open Darts, as well as defending champion Deta Hedman. Aileen de Graaf, Lorraine Winstanley, Sharon Prins, Corrine Hammond and reigning Lakeside champion Mikuru Suzuki are also amongst the line-up.