Roman Benecky spoils Gary Anderson’s Euro Tour return at the Dutch Darts Championship
Gary Anderson made a short-lived return to the European Tour after he was dumped out of the Dutch Darts Championship by Roman Benecky in Round One.
Anderson, making his first Euro Tour appearance since 2016, suffered a shock early exit in Leeuwarden at the hands of Czech qualifier Benecky.
The two-time World Champion had come through the Tour Card holder qualifier to end his long sabbatical from the Euro Tour, but averaged just 87.6 on his return as Benecky clinched a memorable scalp.
The 23-year-old raced into a 3-0 before Anderson got off the mark in leg four, but one missed dart at tops from the Scot in the fifth leg was seized upon by Benecky.
An 80 checkout saw Anderson peg back to 4-2 behind, but Benecky hit back with tops before converting double 12 for a 13-darter to seal victory.
Home favourite Raymond van Barneveld also bowed out of the competition following a 6-3 defeat to Dimitri van den Bergh.
Less than 24 hours after his Premier League defeat to Nathan Aspinall in Leeds, Van den Bergh averaged 105.6 and landed four 180s as he hit back from 2-1 down to claim five of the next six legs.
“This win means a lot to me against one of the best players in the world,” said Van den Bergh, who will take on Ryan Searle in Saturday’s Second Round.
“He [Van Barneveld] is the man who brought darts to life in the Netherlands, I have so much respect for him and I watched him play since I was a kid.
‘To play him here isn’t easy; the ‘Barney Army’ were fantastic as always but I had a job to do tonight and I’m glad I did it.”
A ruthless display from European Champion Ross Smith saw him post a 101.3 average in whitewashing Jermaine Wattimena 6-0.
Berry van Peer was the sole Dutch winner on the opening day as he overcame a struggling Alan Soutar 6-2 with an impressive display.
Steve Beaton came through a high-quality contest with Kim Huybrechts, closing out a 6-4 victory to set up a clash against fourth seed Damon Heta.
Last weekend’s Austrian Open semi-finalist Daryl Gurney continued his resurgence as he averaged 101 and landed three ton-plus finishes in dispatching Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko 6-2.
A strong display from Gabriel Clemens saw the German number one edge out Gian van Veen in a last-leg decider with a 98 average and four 180s to set up a clash with Michael van Gerwen.
Recent Players Championship event winner Krzysztof Ratajski defeated Andy Boulton 6-4 to set up a show-down with Peter Wright, while Irish youngster Dylan Slevin whitewashed Marcel Hausotter 6-0 to register his first win on the European Tour.
2018 Dutch Darts Championship winner Ian White ran out a 6-2 winner against Arron Monk, while Stephen Bunting whitewashed a struggling Adam Smith-Neale to move through to a Second Round clash against Joe Cullen.
Madars Razma averaged 103 to defeat former World Master John O’Shea 6-3 and claim his first European Tour win of 2023, while Graham Hall enjoyed a dream debut in Leeuwarden, whitewashing UK Open semi-finalist Adam Gawlas.
Jim Williams averaged 104 on his way completing a 6-1 rout of George Killington, while Keane Barry and Martin Lukeman dumped out Finland’s Marko Kantele and Dutch qualifier Martijn Dragt respectively.
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Dutch Darts Championship 2023 Day One Results
All times BST (Local time one hour ahead)
Friday April 28
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Graham Hall 6-0 Adam Gawlas
Andy Boulton 4-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
Alan Soutar 2-6 Berry van Peer
Madars Razma 6-3 John O’Shea
Keane Barry 6-2 Marko Kantele
Jim Williams 6-1 George Killington
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Martijn Dragt
Dylan Slevin 6-0 Marcel Hausotter
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Ian White 6-2 Arron Monk
Gian van Veen 5-6 Gabriel Clemens
Gary Anderson 2-6 Roman Benecky
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Adam Smith-Neale
Ricardo Pietreczko 2-6 Daryl Gurney
Raymond van Barneveld 3-6 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Steve Beaton 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Ross Smith 6-0 Jermaine Wattimena
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