European Darts Trophy Friday Evening Round-up | Chisnall completes stunning comeback against De Zwaan; Nijman edges past Reyes despite poor finishing

Wessel Nijman and Dirk van Duijvenbode safely booked their places in the second round of the European Darts Trophy 2026, while Jeffrey de Zwaan suffered a dramatic early exit on Friday night.

Nijman edged past Cristo Reyes in a tense 6–5 encounter despite a frustrating spell on the doubles, whereas Van Duijvenbode proved too strong for Belgian neighbour Mario Vandenbogaerde with a 6–2 victory. De Zwaan, meanwhile, looked destined for the last 32 before squandering a commanding 5–0 lead and eventually falling 6–5 to Dave Chisnall.

Nijman endured a nightmare start against Reyes. His scoring remained solid, but the Dutchman simply could not find a double early on. After three legs the 25-year-old had missed all eleven attempts at a finish, leaving him staring at an avoidable 3–0 deficit.

At last, in leg four, the breakthrough arrived as Nijman pinned double with his 15th dart of the leg to get on the board at 3–1.

That proved to be the catalyst for a comeback. Double 16 reduced the gap to 3–2 in the next leg, before double 8 completed the recovery and restored parity at 3–3. Nijman then moved ahead for the first time with a clinical 127 checkout in just 12 darts.

Reyes responded to level at 4–4, but it was again Nijman who edged in front to sit one leg away from victory. The Spaniard forced a deciding leg, yet Nijman kept his composure when it mattered most to seal a hard-fought 6–5 win.

Dirk van Duijvenbode also secured his place in the second round, although it was far from his best performance.

The Dutchman benefited from a similarly erratic display by Vandenbogaerde, allowing “Aubergenius” to come through relatively comfortably with a 6–2 win.

Van Duijvenbode made a spectacular start, opening the contest with a superb 120 checkout to break throw before holding his own leg for a quick 2–0 lead.

Vandenbogaerde briefly responded to make it 2–1, but his finishing soon deserted him. The Belgian squandered several chances on the doubles and, although Van Duijvenbode was far from clinical himself, he proved the more efficient of the two and quickly surged into a 5–1 lead.

“Super Mario” produced a moment of resistance with a tidy 100 finish, yet Van Duijvenbode wrapped up the match in the eighth leg to progress despite a modest 85.83 average.

For Jeffrey de Zwaan, it was a night to forget.

“The Black Cobra” looked in total control early on, opening with a classy 140 checkout in 12 darts against Dave Chisnall. With Chisnall struggling badly, De Zwaan quickly raced into a dominant 3–0 lead and soon extended that advantage to 5–0, seemingly cruising towards the second round.

But from the sixth leg onward the momentum shifted dramatically.

Chisnall finally found his range and clawed his way back with two strong legs to reduce the deficit to 5–2. What had looked like a formality suddenly became tense as De Zwaan’s scoring dipped while “Chizzy” gathered momentum.

The turning point came in legs eight and nine, where De Zwaan squandered three match darts. Sensing his opportunity, Chisnall completed the comeback, forcing a deciding leg before sealing a remarkable 6–5 victory to snatch a place in the next round.

Elsewhere on the opening night, victories for Luke Woodhouse, Daryl Gurney, Joe Cullen, Niko Springer and Mensur Suljović completed the line-up of first-round winners.

Woodhouse enjoyed the most straightforward evening, whitewashing home favourite Dragutin Horvat 6–0. Gurney had to work harder but eventually saw off Sebastian Bialecki 6–4.

Cullen delivered a strong display to defeat Wojciech Bruliński 6–3, pulling away late in the match. Springer prevailed in an all-German thriller against Kai Gotthardt, edging a deciding leg to win 6–5.

Finally, Suljović produced a solid performance to dispatch William O'Connor 6–2 and secure his place in Saturday’s action.