Poland Darts Open Saturday afternoon Round-Up | Wessel Nijman downs Gary Anderson as Nathan Aspinall and Cameron Menzies impress

Poland Darts Open saw Wessel Nijman star as he delivered one of the performances of the tournament to see off Gary Anderson 6-2, while there were also wins for Cameron Menzies and Nathan Aspinall, among others.

Jermaine Wattimena came through an all-Dutch battle with Danny Noppert in a deciding leg. The match was finely balanced throughout, with Noppert missing three match darts before Wattimena eventually snatched victory.

Both players made an excellent start. Noppert opened with a 13-darter to take the lead, but Wattimena immediately responded with a 12-darter to level. ‘The Machine Gun’ then secured the first break of throw after Noppert missed five darts at a double, although he failed to consolidate as the man from Joure broke straight back for 2-2.

Wattimena produced another superb 12-darter to break again, yet once more ‘The Freeze’ hit back instantly, this time also in 12 darts. Noppert then held his own throw in 14 darts to move back in front for the first time since the opening leg, only for Wattimena to respond in the same number of darts to restore parity.

In leg nine, Noppert fired in a brilliant 10-darter to move to match point. However, he missed his first match dart in the tenth leg, allowing Wattimena to force a decider. In the final leg, Noppert again had the first opportunities but squandered two more darts for the match. Wattimena punished those misses clinically, pinning double 9 with his second dart in hand to seal the all-Dutch showdown.

Wessel Nijman turned in a hugely impressive display to dispatch Anderson, a recent World Championship semi-finalist, by a 6-2 margin. The Dutchman averaged just over 103 and took control after the early stages.

Anderson struck first with a 14-darter and an 80 checkout to lead 1-0, but from that point on it was largely one-way traffic. Nijman reeled off three excellent legs in 13, 12 and 13 darts to surge into a commanding 3-1 advantage.

In leg five, Anderson looked set to reduce the deficit but missed no fewer than eight darts at a double, gifting Nijman a break for 4-1. Nijman then held comfortably in 14 darts to move to match point. Although the Scot grabbed one more leg, the winner of Players Championship 2 earlier this month wrapped up the contest in leg eight with another 14-darter to reach the third round in style.

Elsewhere, Boris Krcmar, Chris Dobey, Nathan Aspinall, Cameron Menzies, Ross Smith and Cristo Reyes also progressed to the last 16.

Krcmar impressed with a 6-4 victory over Germany’s Martin Schindler, while Dobey took full advantage of an under-par Connor Scutt to cruise to a 6-0 win. Aspinall faced stern resistance from Darryl Pilgrim, who averaged over 101, but a series of clinical finishes at key moments saw ‘The Asp’ come through 6-3.

Menzies delivered one of the standout displays of the session, averaging close to 100 in a dominant 6-0 win over James Wade, who struggled throughout. Smith also enjoyed a comfortable outing, brushing aside Daryl Gurney 6-1.

Finally, Cristo Reyes continued his flying start to 2026. The Spaniard, who secured his Tour Card in January, claimed another notable scalp by defeating recent World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle 6-2 to book his spot in the third round.