Top PDC names in WDF final? Dirk van Duijvenbode and Maik Kuivenhoven take advantage of exemption in Dutch Open pairs win over Van Schie and Van Trijp

Dirk van Duijvenbode and Maik Kuivenhoven were crowned men’s pairs champions at the Dutch Open Darts in Assen on Sunday. In a high-quality final they proved too strong for Jimmy van Schie and Danny van Trijp, winning 5-1.

It was a final featuring three players who hold a PDC Tour Card. Previously, PDC players were not allowed to compete at the Dutch Open, but this year the PDC granted permission to take part in the pairs event, with the final broadcast on television. After all, PDC player contracts state they may not play in streamed or televised tournaments of other federations without permission.

On Friday, Van Duijvenbode and Kuivenhoven had already reached the final after victories over Patrick Maat/Jorben Nieuwenhuis (3-0), Tom van den Hoogen/Vinay Ramnath (3-0), Brian Raman/Nunjo Dewaele (3-1) and Jelle Klaasen/Andy Baetens (4-3). On the other side of the bracket, Van Schie and Van Trijp made the decider by seeing off Laurens Admiraal/Loek van den Berg (3-1), Patrick van den Boogaard/Freddy de Geus (3-2), Lars van Langen/Kevin Koning (3-0) and Richard Veenstra/Chris Landman (4-2).

In the final, the first three legs went with throw before Van Duijvenbode and Kuivenhoven forced a break in the fourth leg with a 20-darter. A 19-darter then made it 4-1. Van Schie had a chance from 120 to keep his team in it but missed tops. Kuivenhoven hit that same double to seal the title for Kuivenhoven and Van Duijvenbode.