Gerwyn Price has decided at the last minute not to take part in the Czech Darts Open. This decision has implications for Raymond van Barneveld, as ‘Barney’ was due to take on ‘The Iceman’ on Saturday night.
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Price had a bye in the first round of the European Tour tournament in Prague, while van Barneveld had to start in the opening round on Friday night. The 57-year-old Dutchman kicked off his campaign with an impressive 6-0 victory against Daryl Gurney.
After that game, the five-time world champion already looked ahead to the clash against the former Welsh world champion, but on Saturday it was announced that Price will not travel to the Czech Republic at all. The PDC reports that Price is suffering from a trapped nerve in his neck.
Maik Kuivenhoven, the next player on the reserve list, has been drummed up to still take part in the Czech Darts Open. So the 36-year-old Dutchman will stream straight into the second round.
This is particularly good news for Kuivenhoven himself, who is currently just outside the qualifying spots for the World Darts Championship and can make good use of the prize money. According to PDC rules, Kuivenhoven will only receive first-round prize money at first though.
If Kuivenhoven manages to beat Van Barneveld, his prize money does rise to the amount (£4,000) that all players who reach the last sixteen receive. This would then also mean that Kuivenhoven is almost certain of participating in the World Darts Championship.
I stumbled into the world of darts quite by accident back in 2013. For a Journalism School assignment, I had to produce a live sports report and as it happened, the European Tour event in Veldhoven was the only available option. That weekend, I caught the darts bug. The post-match interviews especially appealed to me, as darts players tend to be much more open and approachable than what you usually see with footballers on television.
After a few detours, I joined Dartsnieuws.com in 2017 as editor-in-chief. I don’t have much competitive experience myself, although I once entered a PDC Development Tour weekend just to experience what it’s like from a player’s perspective. I even managed to win a leg against a Tour Card holder and, quite by accident, earned £50 in prize money.
In 2022, I was also involved in the founding of the TOTO Dart Kings, a commercial darts team, where I worked as media manager for three years. Unfortunately, due to new legislation in the Netherlands, that project came to an end in 2025.
Through my work in darts, I’ve been fortunate to travel to some incredible events, from Premier League nights at Ahoy Rotterdam, to several World Championships, and even the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Beyond darts, I’m a passionate sports fan in general. You can always wake me up for a game of tennis or padel, and I love following football, tennis, padel, cycling, Formula 1, and ice skating.
Gerwyn Price has withdrawn from the Gambrinus Czech Darts Open due to a trapped nerve in his neck.
The Welshman has been replaced from the Reserve List by Maik Kuivenhoven, who will now take on Raymond van Barneveld tonight.