Richard Veenstra has advanced to the second round of
Players Championship 18 at the expense of
Dimitri van den Bergh. 'Flyers' eliminated Dimitri van den Bergh 6-2 after a strong match.
Veenstra posted a strong average of 104.79. Van den Bergh took the first leg of the match, but then the Dutchman won three legs in a row after a 14-darter and a 15-darter. After Van den Bergh narrowed the gap to 2-3, Veenstra took another three consecutive legs thanks to two 11-darters to put a 6-2 final score on the scoreboard.
Peter Wright did qualify for the second round of Players Championship 18. The two-time world champion defeated Graham Usher 6-3.
James Wade made it through the first shuffle after a 6-3 win over Franz Roetzsch, while Joe Cullen dealt with Boris Krcmar (6-4).
Dirk van Duijvenbode also looked to join the last 64 in Milton Keynes. 'Aubergenius' led 5-4 in his match against Rene Eidams, but missed matchdarts in two consecutive legs, including three matchdarts on tops in the last leg. Eidams then took advantage by throwing out 52 for a 6-5 win over Van Duijvenbode.
Jermaine Wattimena and Kevin Doets will also return in the second round of the eighteenth Players Championship tournament of the season. Wattimena triumphed 6-3 against Cameron Crabtree, while Doets was 6-3 too strong for his compatriot Martijn Dragt. Mike de Decker became the first Belgian to secure a spot in the second round with a 6-3 victory over Nick Kenny. Familiar names such as Gabriel Clemens, Krzysztof Ratajski, Luke Woodhouse, Cameron Menzies and Andrew Gilding also qualified for the last 64.