The
Dutch Darts Championship is already over after the first round for
Raymond van Barneveld.
Cameron Menzies has crushed the legendary Dutchman in front of his own crowd.
Van Barneveld has sometimes said that players often throw their best game against him, and this time that was certainly true. Menzies played one of his best matches ever. With a 15-darter and a 14-darter, Menzies immediately took a 2-0 lead, after which 'Barney' missed one chance to halve the deficit. That miss was mercilessly punished by Menzies, who threw out 147 for a 3-0 lead. The Scot then fired two 12-darters into the board, bringing the score to 5-0 with an average of 117. Because Menzies then missed four match darts in the sixth leg, Van Barneveld was able to get on the scoreboard with an 80 finish. Menzies then decided the match with an 18-darter, making it a Scottish clash with Peter Wright in the second round.
Jermaine Wattimena did manage to qualify for the last 32 at the Dutch Darts Championship. 'The Machine Gun' settled in an exciting duel with Joe Cullen, who walked off the stage irritated at some mid-match controversy involving Wattimena's antics.
Wattimena got involved with the Dutch crowd a few times after a good score. That then led to cheers the moment Cullen was ready to throw his darts at the board. Nevertheless, 'The Rockstar' managed to fight his way back to 5-5 after falling behind 5-3. Wattimena then pulled the match away with a 16-darter, after which Cullen returned to the wings without shaking his hand.
Luke Woodhouse also managed to secure a spot in the second round of this Euro Tour tournament. 'The Shed' fell behind 4-1 in an English clash against Ryan Meikle, but won the next three legs to make it 4-4. Woodhouse then missed chances to lead 5-4, putting Meikle first on five legs. With a 14-darter, Woodhouse then forced a final leg. Both Englishmen missed huge numbers of match darts in the deciding leg. Meikle had wasted six chances before Woodhouse's fourth chance was a hit.