Van Veen sets up Van Gerwen showdown at Flanders Darts Trophy; Huybrechts delights home crowd in Antwerp

On Friday afternoon, Kim Huybrechts reached the second round of the Flanders Darts Trophy in front of his home crowd in Antwerp. Gian van Veen also managed to secure a place in the last 32.

Huybrechts experienced one of the most special moments of his career on Friday afternoon. The Belgian has played in major finals, appeared in the Premier League, and reached the World Championship quarterfinals, but this was the first time he got to play in a PDC tournament in his home city of Antwerp.
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‘The Hurricane’ fell behind with an early break in his match against Lukas Wenig, but recovered by winning four straight legs. However, his scoring dropped off, allowing Wenig to fight back to 4-4. The German missed a break chance in the ninth leg, and Huybrechts took back the initiative, sealing victory in the deciding leg with a 13-darter. That means Huybrechts will return to the Antwerp stage on Saturday night to face James Wade.

Gian van Veen only needed an average of 90.70 to beat Adam Gawlas 6-2. ‘GVV The Giant’ also went behind early but escaped a possible break in the second leg. He leveled at 1-1 with a 19-darter before moving into a 3-1 lead thanks to a 14-darter and a 155 checkout.

Gawlas closed the gap to 3-2 with a 17-darter, but Van Veen restored the cushion with a 60 finish. In the seventh leg both players missed several doubles, but Van Veen eventually hit double 8 to go 5-2 up. The Poederoijen thrower then sealed the match with a 14-darter, setting up a second-round clash with fellow Dutchman Michael van Gerwen.

Christian Kist caused an upset by beating Cameron Menzies. For ‘The Lipstick,’ it was his first win on the European Tour since 2017. Kist looked to have thrown the victory away after letting a 4-1 lead slip, as Menzies won four legs in a row. But Kist forced a decider with a 123 checkout, then struck with a 13-darter in the last leg. That win earns the Dutchman a last-32 tie with Damon Heta.

Jermaine Wattimena suffered a surprise exit in the opening session. ‘The Machine Gun’ made a strong start and raced into a 3-0 lead against Leon Weber. But after missing four darts to move 5-2 ahead, the match turned. Weber fought back and edged the tie 6-5.

Francois Schweyen was unable to win in front of his home crowd, losing 6-3 to Dylan Slevin. Luke Woodhouse cruised past Johan Engstrom 6-1, while Krzysztof Ratajski proved too strong for Steve Lennon in a 6-3 victory. Mensur Suljovic also advanced, defeating Andrew Gilding 6-4.

On Friday evening, the final eight matches of the first round of the Flanders Darts Trophy will be played. Among those in action are Mario Vandenbogaerde, Wessel Nijman, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Jeffrey de Graaf, Mike de Decker, Raymond van Barneveld, and Xanti van den Bergh.