Both the men's and women's tournament at the WDF Italian Grand Masters had a Dutch winner. Jimmy van Schie took the men's title, while Lerena Rietbergen proved the best in the women's tournaments.
There were 264 men competing in the men's tournament. Besides Van Schie, Wesley Plaisier, Alexander Merkx and Tonny Veenhof also made it to the quarterfinals. Van Schie won 4-1 from Plaisier in the last four, while Merkx handled his Belgian opponent Francois Schweyen (4-3). Veenhof joined the last four with a 4-3 win over James Beeton.
In the semifinals, Van Schie treated his compatriot Merkx to a 4-0 defeat. Veenhof missed out on a spot in the final after a 4-1 defeat to Kai-Fan Leung. In the final Van Schie took a 2-0 lead by hitting 74 and 103 in the first two legs. Moments later, the Dutchman made it 4-1 after a 14-darter in the fifth leg. He then finished it off with a 16-darter to win his fifth WDF title of the season.
On the women's side of things, Rietbergen won her fourth title of the season. Rietbergen won 4-0 over Rebecca Brouse in her semifinal, before Irina Armstrong prevented an all Dutch final with a 4-1 victory over Anca Zijlstra. Rietbergen then defeated Armstrong 5-1 to secure herself the title win.
Gentlemen
Quarterfinals
Jimmy van Schie 4-1 Wesley Plaisier
Alexander Merkx 4-3 Francois Schweyen
Tonny Veenhof 4-3 James Beeton
Kai-Fan Leung 4-3 Daniel Zapata
Semi-final
Jimmy van Schie 4-0 Alexander Merkx
Kai-Fan Leung 4-1 Tonny Veenhof
Final
Jimmy van Schie 5-1 Kai-Fan Leung
Ladies
Quarterfinals
Rebecca Brouse 4-3 Aletta Wajer
Lerena Rietbergen 4-1 Paula Jacklin
Irina Armstrong 4-0 Margaret Sutton
Anca Zijlstra 4-1 Greta Tekauer
Semi-final
Lerena Rietbergen 4-0 Rebecca Brouse
Irina Armstrong 4-1 Anca Zijlstra
Final
Lerena Rietbergen 5-1 Irina Armstrong
FIVE STAR VAN SCHIE! A week after picking up his fourth WDF title, Jimmy van Schie won his fifth in yesterday's Italian Grand Masters. Facing Kai Fan Leung in the final, van Schie produced finishes of 74, 103 and 121 as he ran out a 5-1 winner with a 98.52 average.
