Dekker and Haavisto split titles at Nordic & Baltic Pro Tour season opener

The new PDC Nordic & Baltic ProTour season opened in Riga with tournament wins for Cor Dekker and Jani Haavisto. Over the first weekend of play in Latvia, the Norwegian and the Finn split the titles across the two events.

Dekker started the year strongly by taking the opening event. In a tense final he got the better of Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson, with a 160 checkout in the deciding leg proving the difference.

The Norwegian had already impressed earlier in the tournament with comprehensive wins over Asko Niskala and Oskars Kuzmans. In the quarterfinals he kept Darius Labanauskas at bay without conceding a leg.

After a 6-2 victory over Alexander Thorvaldsson in the quarterfinals and a 6-3 win against Latvian Dmitriy Zhukov in the semifinals, Dekker capped his strong run with the title at the season’s first event.

The weekend’s second tournament produced a notable storyline. Finland’s Jani Haavisto returned to the circuit after an eight-year absence and immediately crowned it with a title. He beat Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 in the final, sealing his eighth Nordic & Baltic ProTour crown and his first since 2014.

The 38-year-old Haavisto opened his campaign with wins over Harijs Cinis and Bjorn Lejon. He then survived a last-leg decider against Andreas Harrysson, who had battled back into the match.

In the quarterfinals Haavisto left little doubt with a dominant 6-1 win over compatriot Teemu Harju. The semifinals required another last-leg decider, but he again came through, this time against Daniel Larsson.