Gian van Veen has advanced to the final at the 2024
Hungarian Darts Trophy this night. After a masterclass in the middle part of the match, van Veen still had to pull out all the stops to beat
Ryan Searle 7-5.
Van Veen is on an impressive winning streak at the Euro Tour tournament in Budapest. He previously defeated Keane Barry (6-4), Danny Noppert (6-3) and Wessel Nijman (6-2) and has thrown an average of over 100 in three of his four matches.
Van Veen shot out of the starting blocks with a 112 finish, then Searle responded with a 14-darter for the equalizer. Both players then held their own leg again before Van Veen ran out to a 4-2 lead with a 12-darter and a 161 finish. Then it was even 6-2 after a 14-darter and another 161 finish.
The trebles were a lot more difficult to come by after that for Van Veen, however. Searle came back to 5-6, and could start the twelfth leg himself. The Englishman was on his way to forcing a deciding leg, but missed four chances to take it. Van Veen took advantage of these misses and threw out 68 to qualify for the final.
In his first-ever Euro Tour final, Van Veen will face the winner of the second semifinal between Ross Smith and Michael van Gerwen. The final is then later in the evening.