Belgian Darts Open 2023 | Day One Preview and Order of Play
The 2023 Belgian Darts Open gets under way in Wieze on Friday as the qualifiers collide in the opening round.
The seventh of 13 Euro Tour events this season features 48 players battling it out for £175,000 in prize money at the Oktoberhallen from May 5-7.
The top 16 players from the ProTour Order of Merit (as of March 7) are seeded and enter at the Second Round stage, while 32 qualifiers battle it out for the right to join them.
Friday’s afternoon session kicks off with a tie between former BDO World Trophy finalist Richard Veenstra and former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks.
German number one Gabriel Clemens, who replaced the injured Cameron Menzies in the line-up, steps in to face new PDC Tour Card holder Graham Usher.
Former North American champion Jeff Smith opens up against Dutchman Damian Mol, while former Grand Slam champion Jose De Sousa faces Host Nation qualifier François Schweyen.
Former World Youth champion Ted Evetts takes on Sweden’s Dennis Nilsson, while former UK Open semi-finalist Keane Barry – who reached the Last Eight in Leeuwarden last weekend – faces Associate Member qualifier Sven Hilling.
WDF world number one Andy Baetens, who came through Thursday’s Host Nation qualifier, will meet Jermaine Wattimena, as Welshman Robert Owen plays Swiss star Stefan Bellmont.
A star-studded evening session includes a stand-out tie between two-time World Champion Gary Anderson and Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski.
Anderson’s seven-year Euro Tour sabbatical ended at last week’s Dutch Darts Championship, but the Scot suffered an abrupt exit at the hands of Czech qualifier Roman Benecky and will be determined to bounce back at the first opportunity.
An uncharacteristic collapse from Ratajski saw him squander leads of 4-0 and 5-1 in an eventual 6-5 defeat to Peter Wright in last week’s Second Round.
Two titans of the sport collide for the second time on the Euro Tour this season as five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld faces James Wade.
The pair met in the Baltic Sea Darts Open back in February, with Wade securing a 6-3 victory, and the ten-time major winner returns after failing to qualify for the last four Euro Tour events.
Belgian number one Dimitri van den Bergh aims to delight his home crowd by overcoming three-time Euro Tour event winner Ian White in the final match of the evening.
Van den Bergh’s World Cup partner Kim Huybrechts, who has picked up a ProTour title this season, starts out against former Euro Tour finalist Ricky Evans.
Reigning European Champion Ross Smith starts his latest quest for a first Euro Tour title with a clash against Martijn Kleermaker, while in-form Canadian Matt Campbell faces two-time ProTour event winner Callan Rydz.
A resurgent Daryl Gurney, semi-finalist in the Austrian Open a fortnight ago, opens up against his stablemate Dylan Slevin – who was denied in a last-leg decider by Dirk van Duijvenbode in Round Two last weekend.
Less than 24 hours after his Semi-Final defeat on Night 14 of the Premier League in Manchester, Chris Dobey returns to action to face East European qualifier Dalibor Šmolík of the Czech Republic.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with First Round matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
WATCH THE BELGIAN DARTS OPEN STREAMED LIVE
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Belgian Darts Open 2023 Day One Schedule
All times BST (Local time one hour ahead)
Friday May 5
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Bradley Brooks v Richard Veenstra
Dennis Nilsson v Ted Evetts
Jeff Smith v Damian Mol
Sven Hilling v Keane Barry
Gabriel Clemens v Graham Usher
François Schweyen v Jose De Sousa
Robert Owen v Stefan Bellmont
Jermaine Wattimena v Andy Baetens
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Callan Rydz v Matt Campbell
Daryl Gurney v Dylan Slevin
Martijn Kleermaker v Ross Smith
Gary Anderson v Krzysztof Ratajski
James Wade v Raymond van Barneveld
Kim Huybrechts v Ricky Evans
Dalibor Smolik v Chris Dobey
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ian White
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