"I’d never beaten Dirk before, to beat him 6-0 really pleases me" - Gian van Veen delighted to claim whitewash victory over Dutch rival

Gian van Veen whitewashed fellow countryman Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-0 in an ominous victory, which is also his first win over his rival. He has booked his place in the third round of the Swiss Darts Trophy.

It was brutal stuff from The Giant, who pinned a 170-checkout shot on the way to demolishing van Duijvendobe. He averaged 102.48, and apart from a small blip at the end was in control on the outer ring.

"All that matters is the result, and today I got the result," van Veen said after his victory. "When I saw the draw, I knew I’d be playing the winner of Jitse van der Wal or Dirk van Duijvenbode, so it was always going to be a tough game. I’d never beaten Dirk before, so this was the first time. To beat him 6-0 really pleases me, and I’m really happy with this game."

The European Tour was held in the Hungarian capital of Budapest last weekend, where van Veen was dumped out of the first round by eventual winner Niko Springer, despite averaging close to 106. This was 10 points higher than his German rival but missed darts at doubles cost him the chance for a deeper run.

Reminiscing on that 6-3 defeat, van Veen said: "A bit difficult. I played all right — I hit a 110 finish, a couple of 11- or 12-darters — but so many legs I wasn’t done in 15 darts, and that really cost me the game. If I’d hit my doubles, I could have been 5-0 up, but it didn’t happen. Nico was the deserved winner of that game, and you’ve seen what he’s done over the weekend. In my head I was thinking, maybe if you’d hit those doubles you could have gone far in Hungary. But that was last weekend. This weekend is a new one — I’ve started off really strong and I hope to continue tomorrow."

However, he is back in the winning enclosure and has lauded Switzerland and the fans at the event, paying special homage to their best player Stefan Bellmont, who unfortunately, for the home support, lost in the first round yesterday.

"Yeah, for sure. Switzerland has so many great dart players. Of course, the leading man is Stefan Bellmont, who’s done really well on the Challenge Tour and the Pro Tour. Switzerland is an amazing country to play darts in, and even this afternoon — a Saturday afternoon — there were so many people here. They’re enjoying the session, and hopefully it’s going to be the same tomorrow."