Baltic Sea Darts Open 2023 | Day One Preview and Order of Play

The curtain is raised on the 2023 European Tour as the Baltic Sea Darts Open commences in Kiel on Friday.

The first of 13 European Tour events this season features 48 players battling it out for £175,000 in prize money at the Wunderino Arena in Kiel, Germany from February 24-26.

The top 16 players from the ProTour Order of Merit (as of January 31) are seeded and enter at the Second Round stage on Saturday, while 32 qualifiers battle it out on Day One for the right to join them.

The afternoon session features a clash between multiple ranking title winner Brendan Dolan and former World Youth champion Arron Monk – who regained his Tour Card at Qualifying School in January.

Keegan Brown, another former World Youth champion to regain his place on the circuit last month, opens up against Czech qualifier Filip Sebesta, while Dutch ace Jermaine Wattimena faces Germany’s Niko Springer – one of two Host Nation qualifiers in the field.

Former World Youth champions Bradley Brooks and Ted Evetts take on Josh Payne Jeroen Mioch respectively, while former Euro Tour finalist Ricky Evans kicks off the action against Associate Member qualifier Martijn Dragt.

Dutch left-hander Niels Zonneveld takes on Belgian veteran Mario Vandenbogaerde, as Welsh youngster Lewy Williams meets Sweden’s Dennis Nilsson.

The evening session features a stand-out tie between five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld and ten-time major winner James Wade.

Van Barneveld enjoyed a superb end to 2022, reaching the Semi-Finals of the Grand Slam to seal a return to the world’s top 32, while Wade picked up a Players Championship title last season and has two Euro Tour titles to his name.

Gabriel Clemens returns to compete in a PDC tournament on home soil for the first time since his ground-breaking run to the Semi-Finals of the World Championship, and he starts out against two-time major champion Daryl Gurney.

Adrian Lewis, back-to-back PDC World Champion in 2011 and 2012, starts out against former Lakeside World Champion Steve Beaton in another unmissable encounter.

Stephen Bunting, quarter-finalist at Ally Pally last month, faces a tough opener against two-time Euro Tour finalist Willie O’Connor.

Two-time Lakeside semi-finalist Richard Veenstra, who came through European Qualifying School for the first time last month, takes on German Super League winner Florian Hempel.

Graham Usher marks his European Tour debut with a tie against former ProTour event winner Ryan Joyce, while last year’s Hungarian Trophy quarter-finalist Ryan Meikle faces dangerous Host Nation qualifier Lukas Wenig and 2018 Dutch Championship semi-finalist Ritchie Edhouse meets world number 87 Shaun Wilkinson.

The action gets under way from 12pm GMT, with First Round matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.

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Baltic Sea Darts Open 2023 Day One Schedule

All times GMT (Local time one hour ahead)

Friday February 24

First Round

Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Ricky Evans v Martijn Dragt
Niels Zonneveld v Mario Vandenbogaerde
Lewy Williams v Dennis Nilsson
Filip Sebesta v Keegan Brown
Jeroen Mioch v Ted Evetts
Arron Monk v Brendan Dolan
Jermaine Wattimena v Niko Springer
Bradley Brooks v Josh Payne

Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Shaun Wilkinson v Ritchie Edhouse
Ryan Joyce v Graham Usher
Ryan Meikle v Lukas Wenig
William O’Connor v Stephen Bunting
Florian Hempel v Richard Veenstra
James Wade v Raymond van Barneveld
Gabriel Clemens v Daryl Gurney
Steve Beaton v Adrian Lewis