Kim Huybrechts and Andy Baetens qualify after all for the Belgian Darts Open via the Host Nation Qualifier

This Thursday, March 19, Kim Huybrechts, Andy Baetens, Francois Schweyen, and Pascal Devroey qualified for the Belgian Darts Open via the Host Nation Qualifier.

The third European Tour event of the year, held in Wieze, starts tomorrow afternoon and there were four remaining spots to allocate. These were decided through the Host Nation Qualifier, where a total of 167 players battled for four coveted tickets. In the end, Huybrechts, Baetens, Schweyen, and Pascal Devroey came out on top and will appear tomorrow at the Belgian Darts Open.

Kim Huybrechts delivered a solid level throughout the day and began with a convincing 6-0 win over Milan Vanuytrecht in the first of his six matches. He then dispatched Vincent Borgmans (6-2) and Brian Raman (6-0) by wide margins. In the last 32, ‘The Hurricane’ produced his weakest display with a 76 average. Even so, he beat Michael De Meyer 6-4, before taking care of Axel Savelkoel 6-3 in his penultimate match. He posted his best average in the decisive tie, defeating Timothy Verbrugghe 6-2 with a perfect 100 average to secure his spot.

Andy Baetens also impressed. He beat Xavier Bracke 6-1 in his opener and then proved too strong for Dries Cremers 6-3. In the last 64 he averaged over 101 to brush aside Jersey de Corte 6-1, after which Nunjo Dewaele also fell 6-2. In the last 16 he was again too strong for Sean Stessens (6-1) with an average of nearly 99, before meeting the experienced Mario Vandenbogaerde in his decisive match. It turned into his tightest contest of the afternoon, but Baetens edged it 6-4.

Finally, Francois Schweyen and Pascal Devroey claimed the last two places. Schweyen defeated, in order, Ergys Mataj (6-1), Joey Desenfans (6-4), Stijn Sermon (6-0), John Desreumaux (6-5), Kevin Lankhuizen (6-0), and Jeroen Caron (6-3), with his best performance coming against Lankhuizen at a 98 average. Devroey, for his part, beat Eric De Kock-De Bruyn (6-3), Stefan Vandevelde (6-2), Geert De Vos (6-3), Stijn Deklerck (6-5), and Mylo Michiels (6-2), recording his highest average of the day in his final match with 81.85.