European Darts Trophy Sunday Afternoon Round-up | Price, Rock, Springer advance in last leg deciders while Nijman averages over 112 enroute to defeating van Veen

In a session dominated by Dutch players, Wessel Nijman was the pick of the crop as he averaged 112.97 in an out of this world performance against the world number three, Gian van Veen, winning 6-1 to advance into the quarterfinal of the European Darts Trophy.

Nijman showed his intentions early on, breaking the throw on double 18 before two legs on the spin, leaving the bull for a 170. He wisely set it up on double 16 in the second leg before a bounce out allowed van Veen to come and get a first leg on the board.

It would be his last. The World Championship finalist was not on his best form despite the onslaught from Nijman, and he would continue to fall away as a 12 and 11-darter from Nijman put him in pole position to book his spot in the quarterfinals. He wraps it up seemingly with ease, ending on a personal best Euro Tour average in one of the displays of the tournament.

Gerwyn Price had to keep his full concentration to take down a very dangerous Danny Noppert 6-5, with the Dutchman missing a match dart in a tense last leg decider. Tops was working well for Price in the early stages as he pinned his first two darts into his favourite segment for a 2-0 lead. After the pair of them missed the bull, Noppert broke back instantly on double eight before drawing level after Price came tantalisingly close to a marvellous 153 finish.

When at 3-3, ‘The Freeze’ misses twice for a 95 checkout, which was followed by a loud roar from Price when he edged ahead again. He should have moved further clear if he pinned the double 14 for a 124 checkout. Two spurned doubles later and Noppert was back level. A final leg decider is needed between two classy operators, and it would be ‘The Iceman’ who kept his cool, surviving a match dart from Noppert on double 11 to continue his progress in this tournament with a 10th Euro Tour title looking more likely.

Both Josh Rock and Chris Dobey were not at their best in an entertaining tie. In the end, it was Rock who came out in top 6-5. In a very unpredictable match full of mistakes and drama, it was Josh Rock who just squeezed through in a 6- 5 win over Chris Dobey. There was some dodgy doubling in the early stages, specifically in the first leg where Rock wated a whole bunch of chances to break. Dobey recovered in the madhouse. The scoring was good, but the finishing was dreadful, with 20 missed darts in the opening four legs which all went with throw. Dobey looked to be back to his best with an 11-darter culminated by a 100 checkout but again Rock responded with another hold of throw.

The first break went the way of the World Cup winner who backed it up with a hold afforded by more mistakes from a frustrated Dobey. It should have been seen out by Rock but eight missed match darts allowed Dobey a chance to throw for it himself. Both players missed match darts in a dramatic final leg, but it was Rock who eventually nailed his 11th match dart to win. Despite both players missing a combined 43 darts at a double, both players averaged over 90 in a topsy-turvy game of darts.

There was more delight for Niko Springer, who sent the German crowd crazy after a 6-5 win against Ross Smith kept him going in this tournament. Smith started quicker, with his scoring too much for a slow-starting Springer to handle. He moved into a 2-0 lead before the German made the Gottingen crowd erupt. He pinned his first three doubles on the outer ring as he broke back and took the lead of this tie. Smith fought back and had two darts to break, but could not convert. Springer re-took the lead before taking out 84 in two perfect darts to seal a break of his own. Smith clawed his way back and forced Springer to play in a third deciding leg in this tournament. After already taking down Kai Gotthardt and Stephen Bunting through this route, ‘Meenzer Bub’ confirmed a first Euro Tour quarterfinal on home soil with a ruthless ending to a delightful match.

Damon Heta is showing his best level again with a 6-3 win over the inform Kevin Doets. The match commenced with four breaks of throw. Heta twice led but both times was unable to bolster his slim advantage. Doets took the lead for the first time in the fifth leg but a fantastic 108 checkout from ‘The Heat’ reels the Dutchman back in. He then follows it with an 80 outshot to break. This time, he capitalises on this advantage by, for the third leg in a row, nailing his first dart at a double to move within one leg. Heta won his first Euro Tour match since August on Saturday against Darius Labanauskas and prolonged his run in Gottingen with another solid showing.

Niels Zonneveld is having a fine tournament, picking up a huge 6-4 triumph against fellow countryman Jermaine Wattimena. Zonneveld started brighter, clinching a 14-dart break of throw on tops before extending his lead. Wattimena got a first leg on the board, but a 13-dart hold from ‘Tripple Z’ put him further clear but again another comfortable hold from Wattimena keeps him in touch. He was able to break back, but Zonneveld reacted with efficiency, utilising the lesser-seen double 17. ‘The Machine Gun’ forces Zonneveld to throw it out, and there were no problems in that as he took out 80 on double 10 to complete a sublime showing. Averaging over 98 and pinning 75% of doubles, Zonneveld will prove to be a tricky competitor later in this tournament.

He will take on Richard Veenstra, who broke new ground by making the final session of a Euro Tour event for the first time, defeating a lacklustre Ryan Searle 6-3. Both players were not so clinical on the doubles in the early stages, but a first-time dart in double 10 saw Veenstra sneak ahead with a break. He made it four legs on the spin on tops after ‘Heavy Metal’ missed twice at what is normally a favourable target. It was not happening for the World Championship semi-finalist who missed a plethora of doubles ahead of Veenstra, squeezing a dart into double five to move one away. Searle mounted a feeble comeback, but in the end, ‘Flyers’ was in total command.

The final match of the last-16 came between Mensur Suljovic and Dirk van Duijvenbode. There was no problem for the Dutchman who breezed through with a 6-1 win. Van Duijvenbode was by far ahead in the scoring, offering a whole host of double attempts in the opening two legs. This saw him break enroute to a 2-0 lead. He backed this up with another 12-darter, taking out 93 checkout on double 16 with no incoming pressure from his opponent. Another break looked imminent, but three squandered darts at a double allowed Suljovic to nick a leg for himself. Van Duijvenbode accelerated away once more, taking out 112 by pinning treble 18 for double 19 to move one from the match. He sealed his spot in the last-eight with ease, setting up a tasty tie against Price.