Dominance for England at WDF Europe Cup Youth as finals weekend starts to take shape
WDFFriday, 18 July 2025 at 10:42
On the second day of the WDF Europe Cup Youth 2025 in Assen, it was England who shone reaching the final of the girls teams and also the semi-finals in the case of two out of the four in the boys singles tournament.
Domination for home hopes soon extinguished
The day began auspiciously for the Netherlands, the hosts of the tournament. Bradley van der Velden, Kendji Steinbach, Vinny Stassen and Ruben Baalmans all remained undefeated in the group stage and convincingly qualified as group winners for the remainder of the singles tournament.
In the first knockout round (last 64), the Dutch foursome won their matches again. Van der Velden showed why he was counted among the favorites with a resounding 4-0 win and an average of 87. Steinbach showed resilience by turning around a 3-2 deficit against Latvian Ralfs Laumanis.
But in the next round, the curtain fell. Steinbach missed a lot of doubles against the Turk Bedirhan Nas, who won the match with a spectacular 146-finish (4-1). Van der Velden faced Belgian Kylian Drijbooms on stage and lost 4-2. Debutant Stassen also came up just short in a decisive leg against Scot Barry Watson (4-3).
Ruben Baalmans kept Dutch hopes alive for a while with handsome victories over Tristan Mark Brons and Adam Craik (both 4-1). In the last sixteen, however, it was German Merlin Nicolaus who eliminated Baalmans. The Dutchman missed too many chances on the doubles and lost 4-1.
This meant ironically it was a Belgian, Scot, Englishman, German, Dane all in the latter stages and no Dutch players in sight.
English dominance in boys, semifinals Saturday
After an exciting evening, four semifinalists remained in the boys' singles tournament: two English, one Scot and one German. They will be in action Saturday afternoon in the battle for the title.
With the English players in either semi-final, we will get at least one finalist from England if not two if they manage to beat Mitchell Lawrie (Scotland) and Merlin Nicolaus (Germany).
Results quarter-finals boys:
- Sam Jackson 4-3 Kylian Drijbooms
- Mitchell Lawrie 4-1 Jack Nankervis
- Mason Teese 4-2 Barry Watson
- Merlin Nicolaus 4-2 Jakob Skovgaard
Semifinals (Saturday afternoon):
- Sam Jackson vs. Mitchell Lawrie
- Mason Teese vs. Merlin Nicolaus
England face Turkey in girls teams final
The girls team tournament featured an exciting format: four singles matches and one pair match, all over one leg. England came through to the Quarter-Finals where they eased past Denmark. While Netherlands awaited Turkey, with the scoring strong Aysegül Karagöz and Ceylin Atas. Kersbergen and De Jong quickly fell behind 2-0 and also lost the pairs match, ending the tournament for them in the quarterfinals.
Turkey then convincingly advanced to the final with a 3-0 win over Sweden. In the other semifinal, England defeated the surprisingly strong Czech Republic 3-1. The Turkey - England final will be played Saturday afternoon.
Girls team tournament quarterfinals:
- Sweden 3-2 Italy
- Turkey 3-0 Netherlands
- England 3-0 Denmark
- Czech Republic 3-2 Finland
Semifinals:
- Turkey 3-0 Sweden
- England 3-1 Czech Republic
Final (Saturday afternoon):
- Turkey vs. England
Saturday the semi-finals and finals of the singles tournament for boys and the team tournament for girls will be played before the conclusion of the tournament on the Sunday.
Dat was alweer de tweede dag van de Winmau Darts WDF Europe Cup Youth! Het singletoernooi bij de jongens en het allereerste teamtoernooi van de meisjes ooit leverden prachtige wedstrijden op!🎯
— NederlandseDartsBond (@NDBdarts) July 17, 2025
▶️Het verslag van vandaag: https://t.co/YeCMluL8qu
📸Bas van den Berk pic.twitter.com/uK8qBcDbEF
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