Joe Cullen stunned by host nation qualifier as opening session of Czech Darts Trophy 2024 comes to a close

The opening session of the 2024 Czech Darts Trophy has concluded and the first eight names to book themselves a spot in round 2 are now known.

At the end of the afternoon session, Pavel Drtil managed to cause a huge sensation to the delight of the Czech audience present. Drtil surprisingly managed to win 6-4 against former Premier League finalist Joe Cullen.

Gabriel Clemens and Martin Lukeman secured qualification for the second round at the Czech Darts Open on Friday afternoon, important results in the race for European Championship qualification. Dirk Van Duijvenbode currently occupies the 31st spot on the PDC European Tour Order of Merit. The top-32 of this ranking after the Czech Darts Open will receive an invitation to participate in the European Championship from Oct. 24 to 27.

After the defeat of Madars Razma, number 33 in the rankings, Callan Rydz (number 34) and Brendan Dolan (38) were now also eliminated. Rydz lost 6-4 to Martin Lukeman, and Clemens was 6-1 too strong for Dolan.

That leaves Van Duijvenbode with three major competitors left at the Czech Darts Open. These are Nathan Aspinall (number 32), Cameron Menzies (number 35) and Dimitri van den Bergh (number 39). They meet Michal Smeja, Peter Wright and Jonny Clayton, respectively. If two of these three players lose, there is a good chance that Van Duijvenbode will still be allowed to compete in the European Championship.

Players such as Kevin Doets, Niels Zonneveld, Krzysztof Ratajski and Martin Lukeman could then still theoretically pass Van Duijvenbode, but would have to reach at least the semifinals in Prague.