Nordic & Baltic ProTour hat-trick for Kantele in 2023

Marko Kantele (Kelly Decker)

Marko Kantele won his third Nordic & Baltic ProTour crown of the year in Iceland at the weekend, while Vladimir Andersen also opened his account for the 2023 season in Reykjavík.

The third of five weekends of action on this year's Nordic & Baltic ProTour saw four-time World Championship qualifier Kantele clinch his third title in the space of six events.

Denmark’s number one Andersen also lifted the second ProTour title of his career on Saturday, overcoming Sweden’s Daniel Larsson in a topsy-turvy contest to secure Event Five success.

PDC Tour Card Holder Andersen also defeated Swedish duo Andreas Harrysson and Dennis Nilsson en route to glory, having dumped out his compatriots Simon Bak and Benjamin Reus earlier in the event.

Kantele then claimed the Event Six crown on Sunday, demolishing Sweden’s Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1 to secure his 12th Nordic & Baltic ProTour title.

The Finnish veteran fought back from 4-2 adrift to edge out Reus in the semi-finals, having also beaten recent European Tour debutant Paavo Myller in the last eight.

Last weekend also saw a further three European Tour qualifiers take place in the Icelandic capital, as Kantele capped off a terrific few days by sealing his spot in ET9.

The 54-year-old claimed another victory over De Graaf in the semi-finals, before running out a 6-3 winner against Harrysson to confirm his place at next month’s Interwetten European Darts Grand Prix.

Swedish star Nilsson prevailed in Friday’s ET7 Qualifier, winning through a last-leg shoot-out against Jani Laurila and accounting for Jani Keskinarkaus to book his place at the Belgian Darts Open.

Meanwhile, Finnish thrower Laurila will make his European Tour debut at next month’s Czech Darts Open, after defeating Latvia’s Dmitrijs Žukovs in Saturday’s ET8 decider.

The Nordic & Baltic ProTour season continues from June 2-4, as ProTour Events 7-8 and Qualifiers for ET10-11 take place in Vääsky, Finland.

At the conclusion of ProTour Event Eight, the top two players from each competing nation will represent their country at the 2023 World Cup of Darts.

Nordic & Baltic ProTour Event Five
Vladimir Andersen 6-4 Daniel Larsson

Nordic & Baltic ProTour Event Six
Marko Kantele 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf

Belgian Darts Open (ET7 Qualifier)
Dennis Nilsson 6-3 Jani Keskinarkaus

Czech Darts Open (ET8 Qualifier)
Jani Laurila 6-3 Dmitrijs Žukovs

European Darts Grand Prix (ET9 Qualifier)
Marko Kantele 6-3 Andreas Harrysson

Click here for more information on PDC Nordic & Baltic.

2023 PDC Nordic & Baltic Calendar
ProTour 7-8 + ET Qualifiers 10-11

June 2-4, Hotel Tallukka, Vääsky, Finland
 
ProTour 9-10 + ET Qualifiers 12-13
July 14-16, Bellevue Park Hotel, Riga, Latvia