Gian van Veen may not have lifted the trophy at the Dutch Darts Championship, but he stole the show in Maastricht with a sensational 120.24 average against Sebastian Bialecki — a new record for the highest average ever recorded on the European Tour. The Dutchman's extraordinary display had editors at DartsNieuws.com declaring that "Luke Littler and the rest had better watch out" if Van Veen carries that form into the final few months of the season.
Niels Zonneveld, however, completed the home-soil fairytale by claiming his first PDC ranking title with an 8-5 victory over Danny Noppert in the all-Dutch final. Zonneveld's route to glory was anything but straightforward: he defeated Mike De Decker, Krzysztof Ratajski, Gerwyn Price, Wessel Nijman and Stephen Bunting — and remarkably, all six of his opponents had previously won a European Tour event and/or a major title. The final itself saw Zonneveld overcome fatigue after a gruelling second semi-final to beat Noppert convincingly. For Noppert, it was a fifth European Tour final and once again he came up short, still waiting for his first title on the tour.
The quarter-finals set the tone for a remarkable Dutch weekend: Danny Noppert beat Luke Woodhouse 6-2, Gian van Veen dispatched Ryan Searle 6-3, Niels Zonneveld edged Wessel Nijman 6-5, and Stephen Bunting overcame Damon Heta 6-3. In the semi-finals, Noppert ended Van Veen's title hopes with a 7-5 win, while Zonneveld saw off Bunting 7-4. Bunting's run was hailed as a "stupendous effort" by Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com, who noted the Englishman forced his way into the European Championship in Dortmund at the last minute — a lot on the line in the context of his season.
The standard of play at the MECC was exceptionally high throughout. Danny Noppert recorded a 113.42 average in the quarter-finals, while Cristo Reyes impressed with 110.26 in the second round. Another highlight was the fairytale run of relatively unknown Dutchman Heine Uuldriks, who came through the qualifying event before pulling off a stunning upset against Ricardo Pietreczko in the opening round, only to fall to experienced campaigner Brendan Dolan in round two. No fewer than four Dutch players reached the final session in Maastricht, with three progressing to the semi-finals — a statistic that underlined the special nature of the weekend for the top stars from Holland.
Mats Leering, editor for DartsNieuws.com, marvelled at Zonneveld's triumph but questioned whether it represents his ceiling. "Personally, I think it probably is, and that reaching the 28th in the world rankings may be the best he can achieve, perhaps with a few more places gained at most," he said. "I find it hard to see him breaking into the top 16, and that has a lot to do with his playing style. But who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us over the coming months." As for Van Veen, Leering was unequivocal: "A 120 average! A new European Tour record. And if he had produced just one better scoring visit in that final leg, he might even have broken the world record of 123.40."
