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.
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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.
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
𝗩𝗔𝗡 𝗩𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 🇳🇱
Gian van Veen fends off a late Ryan Searle revival to prevail 7-5 with 70% on the doubles and progress to his first European Tour final!
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