The
Czech Darts Open has started well from a Dutch point of view. At the beginning of the afternoon session on Friday,
Niels Zonneveld and
Jermaine Wattimena managed to qualify for the second round.
Zonneveld won 6-2 over Robert Owen in the opening match of the tournament in Prague. The Welshman took a 2-1 lead early in the match, but after that Zonneveld took control. With a 14-darter and a 58 finish, Zonneveld was able to turn the 1-2 deficit into a 3-2 lead. With a 17-darter and a 12-darter, the 26-year-old darter ran out to a 5-2 lead. Zonneveld then finished it off with a 13-darter, allowing him to take on Dave Chisnall in the second round.
Wattimena recorded a hard-fought victory over Patrik Kovacs to join the last 32 at this event. 'The Machine Gun' dealt with Patrik Kovacs (6-5) only after a decisive leg. Kovacs, who qualified for the Czech Darts Open through the East Europe Qualifier, showed off his skills at the beginning of the match by throwing out 89 and 170, leading 2-1 after three legs.
The next three legs went with the darts, making the score 3-3 after six legs. Wattimena then scored the first break of the match with a 14-darter. The darter from Westervoort then kept his own leg and made it 5-3. Wattimena then started Kovacs' leg with a 180, but he failed to decide the leg in five visits. Kovacs hit the double 10 and closed to 4-5. After Wattimena missed two match darts in the tenth leg, Kovacs even came back to 5-5 with a 65 finish. The win then still went to Wattimena, who took the match with a superb 141 finish and moved through to the second round as a result.