De Vreede dedicates Lakeside qualification to deceased friend: "I did it for one person and that is Marcel Blik"

Ryan de Vreede was one of two players who managed to qualify for Lakeside at the last chance qualifier in Assen as he will return to the historic venue.

Is it a surprise? "Yes, I think so," responded a happy De Vreede on the Twitter channel of the Dutch Darts Association (NDB). “Obviously I came here to win. I did it for one person and that is Marcel Blik'', De Vreede refers to a recently deceased friend and also well-known darts player from The Hague.

The 29-year-old Dutchman won seven matches in total. De Vreede faced defeat twice. In the last sixteen he faced Jeremy van der Winkel, where he turned a 0-3 and 4-5 deficit into a 6-5 victory. In the final against Danny Jansen, De Vreede was even 1-4 behind, but then he gave up only one more leg.

"All matches were difficult, because I did not really play well. Then it went a bit better. With a bit of luck, I made it through and eventually won'', De Vreede concluded.

For De Vreede, it will be his second participation at Lakeside. In 2016 he competed in the BDO World Championship which was then still played in Frimley Green. Back then Larry Butler was too strong in the first round by 3-2 in sets.

Click here to buy your tickets for the return to Lakeside which will also be shown live on Eurosport and Discovery Plus.