Dirk van Duijvenbode continued his resurgence with a superb display on the opening day of the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship, as Raymond van Barneveld also enjoyed a winning return to home soil.
Van Duijvenbode was one of four Dutch stars to triumph on an eventful opening day in Rosmalen, with Van Barneveld, Wessel Nijman and Jeffrey Sparidaans also celebrating victories.
On a day which saw 12 representatives from the Netherlands in action, Van Duijvenbode took centre stage with a six-leg blitz of Finland’s Teemu Harju.
The 32-year-old averaged 102.48 and converted a sensational 164 checkout to wrap up a comprehensive win, and James Wade now awaits the enigmatic Dutchman tomorrow night.
Van Barneveld was pushed all the way to a deciding-leg by Host Nation Qualifier Jerry Hendriks, but the five-time World Champion kept his composure to prevail with a 97 average and five 180s.
Nijman also came through an all-Dutch clash against Berry van Peer, surviving three match darts in the penultimate leg to set up a tie with Peter Wright for a place in the last 16.
Sparidaans was the solitary Host Nation Qualifier to advance on Friday, dispatching former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding 6-2 to create a showdown against fifth seed Damon Heta.
However, there was bitter disappointment for Gian van Veen and Wesley Plaisier, who suffered deciding-leg defeats against Boris Krcmar and Cameron Menzies respectively.
Krcmar averaged 100.86 to deny World Youth Champion Van Veen, while Plaisier spurned six match darts in a gruelling encounter with Menzies, who now faces world number one Luke Humphries.
Jermaine Wattimena was also denied on home soil by the emerging Niko Springer, who averaged 99 to join his fellow countrymen Ricardo Pietreczko and Max Hopp in Saturday’s second round.
Pietreczko moved into the provisional qualification places for July’s World Matchplay with a resounding 6-2 success against Czechia’s number one Karel Sedlacek.
Hopp, meanwhile, recorded a hard-fought 6-3 win over Luke Woodhouse, but Lukas Wenig was unable to complete the German hat-trick, losing 6-2 to a clinical Martin Lukeman.
Mickey Mansell booked his place in round two with victory over World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, in a contest which saw every leg go with throw.
De Decker’s compatriot Kim Huybrechts also succumbed in a decider against European Champion Ritchie Edhouse, although there was delight for an impressive Mario Vandenbogaerde.
The Belgian averaged 99.76 in his 6-4 win against Niels Zonneveld, while Daryl Gurney overcame Maik Kuivenhoven by the same scoreline to boost his hopes of World Matchplay qualification.
Elsewhere, Ryan Joyce survived match darts to win through a dramatic affair against the returning Jeffrey de Zwaan, while Ryan Meikle ran out a 6-1 winner against a profligate Joe Cullen.
The £175,000 tournament continues on Saturday, with the 16 seeded players entering the action for the second round - including reigning champion Josh Rock.
Live coverage from the Dutch Darts Championship will be streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and through the DAZN Darts channel on Pluto TV.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' worldwide.
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship
Friday May 23
First Round
Afternoon Session
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-1 Karel Sedlacek
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Berry van Peer
Martin Lukeman 6-2 Lukas Wenig
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Max Hopp 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session
Ryan Meikle 6-1 Joe Cullen
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Mickey Mansell 6-5 Mike De Decker
Cameron Menzies 6-5 Wesley Plaisier
Boris Krcmar 6-5 Gian van Veen
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Jerry Hendriks
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-0 Teemu Harju
Niko Springer 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Saturday May 24
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Damon Heta v Jeffrey Sparidaans
Dave Chisnall v Ritchie Edhouse
Michael Smith v Ryan Joyce
Jonny Clayton v Max Hopp
Chris Dobey v Daryl Gurney
Martin Schindler v Martin Lukeman
Danny Noppert v Mario Vandenbogaerde
Ryan Searle v Ryan Meikle
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
James Wade v Dirk van Duijvenbode
William O'Connor v Boris Krcmar
Ross Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright v Wessel Nijman
Luke Humphries v Cameron Menzies
Michael van Gerwen v Mickey Mansell
Stephen Bunting v Niko Springer
Josh Rock v Ricardo Pietreczko