Gian van Veen produces Grand Slam of Darts masterclass win over Stephen Bunting with average record nearly shattered

Gian van Veen secured a spot in the last sixteen at the Grand Slam of Darts with a dazzling performance. After an average of 110.39 in his opening match against Josh Rock (5-2 win), 'GVV The Giant' played an even better second group match on Sunday afternoon.

He faced Stephen Bunting, who had beaten Wessel Nijman 5-4 on Saturday. A win over 'The Bullet' would secure Van Veen a spot in the top two of the 'pool of death' at this Grand Slam of Darts. Van Veen won the match with the Englishman 5-1, scoring an average of 114.71. Bunting himself had a very respectable average of 104.17.

Van Veen broke Bunting immediately in the first leg with a 13-darter and then opened with two 180s in the second leg. After two more trebles, he went for a nine-darter, but missed the double 18 on the iron wire. A 12-darter made it 2-0.

Even after that, Van Veen was unstoppable. With a 15-darter and a 12-darter the Dutchman doubled his lead to 4-0. In leg five Van Veen was on 100 after nine arrows, but a 170 finish by Bunting prevented Van Veen from throwing for a whitewash.

The 22-year-old Van Veen was then allowed to start the sixth leg himself and was on double 20 after four innings. The former European Championship semifinalist then had a chance to knock Michael van Gerwen's tournament record out of the books. Van Gerwen threw an average of 115.19 at the Grand Slam of Darts in 2021, the highest match average ever at this tournament. Van Veen needed to throw the double with one of his first two match darts, but unfortunately for "GVV The Giant," it didn't work out. The third dart did land in the double 10, making the final score 5-1 for the unleashed Van Veen.

This result brought the curtain down on Wessel Nijman's campaign. After his 5-4 defeat to Bunting, Nijman lost 5-3 to Josh Rock despite a promising start. Nijman recorded an average of 106.51 in his first pool match this time, but once again that proved insufficient to rack up points.

On Monday evening the last group matches in Group H will be played. Van Veen will play compatriot Nijman and can then secure first place in his group. Bunting and Rock will decide together with Van Veen who will advance to the knockout stage of the Grand Slam of Darts.