Baltic Sea Darts Open 2023 | Day Three Preview and Order of Play
The inaugural Baltic Sea Darts Open draws to a close in Kiel on Sunday as the 16 remaining hopefuls compete for the season’s first European Tour title.
A Euro Tour record £30,000 top prize is up for grabs at the Wunderino Arena as 12 seeds and four qualifiers lock horns over two sessions.
The afternoon session plays host to the Third Round ties, before the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and final follow in the evening.
Having racked up four titles last year, top seed Luke Humphries is looking to continue his love affair with the European Tour and steps up his latest pursuit of silverware with a clash against Dimitri van den Bergh.
Humphries made light work of a resurgent Daryl Gurney in his opener, storming to a 6-1 victory with a 98.8 average, and now faces a player who arguably pipped him to a Premier League spot this season.
Van den Bergh was denied in two Euro Tour finals last season and made a solid start to this year’s campaign by defeating Ritchie Edhouse 6-3 with a 97.7 average on Saturday.
Peter Wright resumes his quest for an eighth Euro Tour crown with a tie against former World Youth Champion Keegan Brown.
Wright, who ended his five-year drought at the German Darts Open last year, overcame James Wade in Saturday’s opener and is out to add this trophy to last month’s World Series success at the Nordic Masters.
Brown, meanwhile, came through Qualifying School to seal an immediate return to the circuit and pulled off an impressive win over UK Open champion Danny Noppert in the Second Round.
Reigning World Champion Michael Smith is set to play through the pain barrier once again as he takes on Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Smith looked to be visibly struggling with a hand injury on Saturday but dug deep to close out a 6-4 win over home favourite Niko Springer with an average of 93.
The world number one now faces a much sterner test against the lively Dutchman in a repeat of their European Championship Semi-Final last October, which Smith won 11-7.
World number two Gerwyn Price looks to remain in contention for a seventh European Tour title by overcoming 2022 Belgian Open winner Dave Chisnall.
Price, who let the Premier League Night Four title slip from his grasp in Dublin on Thursday, bounced back superbly by averaging 109 in a 6-2 victory over debutant Graham Usher.
Chisnall also prevailed by the same scoreline, averaging 100.7 in seeing off Lewy Williams, and he will be determined to repeat the dose on another Welshman in the Last 16.
Former Lakeside World Champion Steve Beaton has proved to be one the stand-out stories of the weekend so far, having knocked out Adrian Lewis and Nathan Aspinall to reach the final day of action.
The evergreen 58-year-old now comes up against 2022 Premier League finalist Joe Cullen – a three-time Euro Tour event winner who saw off Arron Monk on Saturday.
Former Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting aims to follow up Saturday’s Second Round scalp of Michael van Gerwen by dispatching another Premier League star in Jonny Clayton.
Bunting ended a seven-year wait for a win over his Dutch nemesis with a 97 average and now meets the 2018 Austrian Open champion – who thrashed Ted Evetts 6-1 in his opener.
World Cup of Darts winner and Gibraltar Open champion Damon Heta aims to end home hopes in the tournament by knocking out German number two Martin Schindler.
Ryan Searle, the number 13 seed, looks to equal his best performance in a Euro Tour event by ending the landmark run of Associate Member Qualifier Martijn Dragt.
Dutch ace Dragt has already made a name for himself with wins over Ricky Evans and former World Champion Rob Cross and will be eyeing another significant upset here.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with Third Round and Quarter-Final ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs, Semi-Finals best of 13 and the final best of 15.
WATCH THE BALTIC SEA DARTS OPEN STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | Geo Restrictions Apply | Gamble Aware
Baltic Sea Darts Open 2023 Day Three Schedule
All times GMT (Local time one hour ahead)
Sunday February 26
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Last 16
Luke Humphries v Dimitri van den Bergh
Michael Smith v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Martijn Dragt v Ryan Searle
Peter Wright v Keegan Brown
Stephen Bunting v Jonny Clayton
Steve Beaton v Joe Cullen
Damon Heta v Martin Schindler
Dave Chisnall v Gerwyn Price
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Quarter-Finals
Humphries/Van den Bergh v Smith/Van Duijvenbode
Dragt/Searle v Wright/Brown
Bunting/Clayton v Beaton/Cullen
Heta/Schindler v Chisnall/Price
Semi-Finals
Final
LATEST DARTS FREE BET OFFERS (18+ | T&Cs apply | Gamble Aware)
NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY. 5P MINIMUM STAKE. 3 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS EXCLUDE VIRTUALS. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. NO FREE BET EXPIRY. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+. GambleAware.ORG
New 18+ UK customers only. Register using the promo code WELCOME40, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+) within 7 days of registration. First bet must be on Sports. £30 in Free Bets and £10 in Free Spins (50x20p) credited within 10 hours of bet settlement. Free Bet stakes are not included in any returns. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply.
New customers only aged 21+. Minimum deposit £10. Qualifying bet must be placed at odds of evens (2.0) or greater. Get a matched Free bet up to £30 plus 20 Free Spins on Reel King, credited within 24 hours. Free Bet and Spins expire in 7 days. Additional T&Cs apply. Please bet responsibly.
