Harju confirms World Darts Championship debut in last-gasp fashion

Teemu Harju will make his Paddy Power World Darts Championship debut in December, after securing his qualification in last-gasp fashion last weekend.

The year’s sixth and final weekend of PDC Nordic & Baltic ProTour action took place at the Olavsgaard Hotel in Oslo from August 1-3, as the race for World Championship qualification reached a dramatic climax.

Harju looked set to miss out on a place at Alexandra Palace heading into Sunday’s Event 12, with Oskar Lukasiak in pole position to join his compatriot Andreas Harrysson in the sport’s flagship event.

However, Lukasiak’s defeat in the last 16 – coupled with Harju’s Event 12 success – was enough to see the 33-year-old overhaul Sweden’s former World Cup quarter-finalist on the Nordic & Baltic rankings.

Harju ran out a resounding 6-2 winner against Johan Engstrom in the Event 12 showpiece, following earlier victories over Andreas Toft Jorgensen and Kent Joran Sivertsen respectively.

He also fought back from 4-3 down to defeat his fellow countryman Juho Jylhamaa in the last 16, having conceded a solitary leg in thumping wins against Kristian Sneddon and Andreas Rokstad.

The weekend’s opening ProTour event was won by Harrysson, who cemented top spot on the Nordic & Baltic rankings with his fourth title of the year in the Norwegian capital.

The enigmatic 50-year-old denied Lukasiak in an all-Swedish affair to take the title, having earlier defied a remarkable fightback from Engstrom to triumph in a compelling semi-final.

Engstrom reeled off five straight legs from 4-0 down to seize control, only for Harrysson to wrap up proceedings with an 11-darter in the decider, having averaged 103.66 in his quarter-final whitewash of Robert Wagner.

Harrysson – who competed on the PDC ProTour last week – also swept aside Stein Havard Helling, Steinar Berggren and Edgar Znutins en route to glory, relinquishing two legs in the process.

Last weekend’s action also saw qualifiers for European Tour Events 12-14 take place, as Danish duo Andreas Hyllgaardhus and Andreas Toft Jørgensen came through the opening two events.

Hyllgaardhus demolished Harrysson to confirm his place in next month’s Hungarian Darts Trophy (ET12), before Jørgensen edged out Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas to qualify for the Swiss Darts Trophy (ET13).

However, Lithuanian trailblazer Labanauskas made amends in the ET14 Qualifier, winning through a high-quality battle against Engstrom to book his place in October’s German Darts Championship.

Following the conclusion of the Nordic & Baltic ProTour season, The inaugural PDC Nordic & Baltic Darts Championship will take place on the weekend of October 3-5.

The exciting new event will give the top 24 players from the final PDCNB ProTour rankings the chance to compete for a €6,500 top prize.

The winner will also qualify to compete in this year’s Paddy Power World Darts Championship and lift the Jann Hoffmann Trophy - named in memory of the popular former Danish star who was also one of the founders of the Scandinavian Darts Corporation, which later became the PDCNB.

2025 Nordic & Baltic ProTour
Saturday August 2
Event 11
Quarter-Finals
Andreas Harrysson 6-0 Robert Wagner
Johan Engstrom 6-4 Teemu Harju
Oskar Lukasiak 6-5 Mattias Jonsson
Cor Dekker 6-1 Darius Labanauskas

Semi-Finals
Andreas Harrysson 6-5 Johan Engstrom
Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 Cor Dekker

Final
Andreas Harrysson 6-4 Oskar Lukasiak

Sunday August 3
Event 12
Quarter-Finals
Johan Engstrom 6-3 Ivan Springborg Poulsen
Marko Kantele 6-2 Lars-Erik Lindgreen
Andreas Toft Jorgensen 6-3 Brian Lokken
Teemu Harju 6-3 Kent Joran Sivertsen

Semi-Finals
Johan Engstrom 6-2 Marko Kantele
Teemu Harju 6-1 Andreas Toft Jorgensen

Final
Teemu Harju 6-2 Johan Engstrom