Schedule Dutch Darts Championship Friday afternoon session including Woodhouse-Hopp and Edhouse-Huybrechts

The Dutch Darts Championship takes place in Rosmalen this weekend. Defending champion Josh Rock will have to wait a while for the fans in Rosmalen, he will play his first match on Saturday against the winner of the first round match between Ricardo Pietreczko and Karel Sedlacek.

The Dutch Darts Championship is already the seventh tournament of the European Tour 2025. It is remarkable that during the previous six tournaments with Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Michael van Gerwen, Martin Schindler and Gary Anderson we also had six different winners. So wait and see if that trend continues this week in Rosmalen. Looking forward is especially whether Josh Rock manages to win the tournament for the second year in a row. Last year, 'The Rockstar' defeated Welshman Jonny Clayton 8-4.

The seventh European Tour tournament of the year will be played at the Autotron from May 23 to 25, with 48 players in action. Rock is one of three former champions in the field of participants.

The opening day on Friday features sixteen matches divided over two sessions.

Gian van Veen, who together with Van Duijvenbode will compete for the Netherlands at the World Cup of Darts next month, will meet Croatian Boris Krčmar in the first round. Van Duijvenbode opens his tournament against Finn Teemu Harju.

Raymond van Barneveld, crowd favorite and icon of Dutch darts, takes on Host Nation Qualifier Jerry Hendriks in his first match. Jermaine Wattimena faces off with talented German Niko Springer in what promises to be an attractive duel.

Wessel Nijman and Berry van Peer meet in an all-Dutch opening match. Niels Zonneveld meets Mario Vandenbogaerde, Cameron Menzies faces Wesley Plaisier and Daryl Gurney will take on Maik Kuivenhoven.

Belgian Mike De Decker, reigning World Grand Prix champion, opens his campaign against semifinalist Mickey Mansell. Kim Huybrechts faces European champion Ritchie Edhouse.

On Saturday, the 16 seeded players will make their appearance. Josh Rock will meet Pietreczko or Sedlácek. Michael van Gerwen will meet De Decker or Mansell, while world champion Luke Humphries will face Menzies or Plaisier. It mainly remains to be seen how Van Gerwen will react after he failed to qualify for the playoffs on the final day of play of the regular phase in Premier League Darts yesterday. It is to be expected that the 36-year-old Dutchman will be eager for revenge and that makes him extra dangerous, especially in front of his own crowd in the Netherlands.

Stephen Bunting, seeded third, faces a tough first hurdle against Wattimena or Springer. Jonny Clayton takes on the winner of Luke Woodhouse - Max Hopp, while Ross Smith may meet Van Barneveld.

Gerwyn Price could face Van Veen in a replay of a loaded encounter, provided the young Dutchman deals with Krcmar. Price is one of four players to qualify for the playoffs in Premier League Darts and is in good form this year. A game against van Veen could be one that the fans will enjoy. Both men are known for their high scoring ability and are regularly above 100 average.

Damon Heta, seeded fifth this weekend, begins his hunt for the title against Jeffrey Sparidaans or Andrew Gilding. Dave Chisnall, winner in 2023, opens against Edhouse or Huybrechts. Michael Smith - champion in 2022 - plays against Ryan Joyce or Jeffrey de Zwaan, in a crucial match with an eye on World Matchplay qualification.

Peter Wright awaits the winner of the Dutch underdog between Nijman and Van Peer. Finally, Germany's number one Martin Schindler is chasing his second European Tour title of the year. He will play against the winner of the German friendly between Martin Lukeman and Lukas Wenig.

The tournament will be broadcast by PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the Dutch Darts Championship consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start daily at 12 p.m., while the evening sessions start at 6 p.m.

The first round will take place on Friday. The 16 Pro Tour players are then paired with one of the 16 players who managed to get through the various qualifying tournaments. The top-16 seeded players enter the tournament on Saturday in the second round. The denouement of the tournament follows on Sunday, with the third round first in the afternoon session. Sunday night the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will follow.

All participants starting from the first round are guaranteed £1250 in prize money, while the top-16 enter from the second round and receive £2,500 anyway. This amount eventually rises to the grand prize of £30,000 for the winner.

An important detail is that players who are automatically seeded via the Order of Merit and lose their first match will not be awarded prize money on the various rankings. This does apply to qualifiers who are later designated as seeded by the withdrawal of others.

Friday, May 23 First Round Afternoon Session.

Ricardo Pietreczko v Karel Sedlacek

Wessel Nijman v Berry van Peer

Martin Lukeman v Lukas Wenig

Ryan Joyce v Jeffrey de Zwaan

Niels Zonneveld v Mario Vandenbogaerde

Ritchie Edhouse v Kim Huybrechts

Andrew Gilding v Jeffrey Sparidaans

Luke Woodhouse v Max Hopp