Swiss Darts Trophy 2025 Friday Evening Roundup | Aspinall dominant, Van Barneveld survives scare & O'Connor mightily impressive

A dramatic Friday night at the 2025 Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel has brought the opening round to a conclusion, with Nathan Aspinall, Raymond van Barneveld and William O'Connor all among those moving through to the second round.

Aspinall dismantled Andreas Toft Jorgensen in emphatic fashion, completing a 6-0 whitewash. He had raced clear early — a 14-dart break of throw underlined his control — and was averaging roughly 30 points more than his opponent at one stage. Toft Jorgensen managed to milking the crowd with a 180 in the sixth, but Aspinall answered with his own maximum and closed the match on double 8. Clinical, efficient and utterly business like.

Van Barneveld survived a nervy test from Swiss qualifier Ansh Sood and prevailed 6-3. The match swung a few times: Sood produced big moments, including two 18-darters and a break that had the home crowd on its feet, but Barney produced a crucial 79 break and a 120 checkout to seal the win. It was not flawless, but it was good enough when it mattered — and it keeps his hopes of World Grand Prix qualification alive.

O’Connor delivered the cleanest statement of the night, thumping Daryl Gurney 6-1. He struck first with a 125 break to move 2-0 up, then followed with a 121 ton-plus finish to make it 3-0. Gurney grabbed a single hold to stop the rot, but O’Connor punished messy doubling from his opponent — finding double top to move 5-1 — before closing out the rout. Dominant from start to finish.

Elsewhere, Dirk van Duijvenbode moved into round two with a 6-2 success over compatriot Jitse van der Wal, a match where the Dutchman rarely found top gear but still had too much in hand. Jermaine Wattimena silenced the Basel crowd by dispatching local hope Stefan Bellmont 6-1, sealing the result with a neat 116 checkout. Chris Landman impressed in patches on his way to a 6-3 victory over Denis Schnetzer, his strong early scoring enough to carry him over the line despite a few late stumbles.

The pick of the matches for drama came between Richard Veenstra and Niko Springer. Springer, fresh from his Euro Tour win in Budapest, threatened a nine-darter in the opening stages and stormed back from 1-4 down to move within a dart of victory. He missed his chance, however, and Veenstra produced a stunning 156 finish to force a decider, eventually pinching it 6-5 in front of a stunned crowd. Ritchie Edhouse’s tie with Wessel Nijman also went the distance, the reigning European champion surviving missed match darts before holding his nerve on an 80 finish to progress.

The evening also brought breaking news, with Ross Smith withdrawing from the tournament for family reasons, handing Ritchie Edhouse a bye into round three.