Raymond van Barneveld holds off Damon Heta for crucial win at the Swiss Darts Trophy as Wattimena thrashes Rock

Raymond van Barneveld preserved his hopes of World Grand Prix qualification with a dramatic deciding-leg win over Damon Heta in Round Two of the Swiss Darts Trophy on Saturday.

The five-time World Champion recovered from 4-2 down and survived a match dart from Heta to seal a 6-5 victory on an eventful Day Two in Basel.

Van Barneveld defied a 132 checkout from Heta as he prevailed with a 98.8 average, leaving him one win away from securing a spot in next month’s World Grand Prix at the expense of Dave Chisnall – who currently occupies the final ProTour qualification place.

The Dutch icon will face Ritchie Edhouse – who received a Bye following the withdrawal of Ross Smith – in Sunday’s Last 16.

Edhouse, meanwhile, must win to maintain his hopes of defending his European Championship title in Dortmund.

Reigning champion Martin Schindler  began his title defence at the St. Jakobshalle with a dominant 6-2 victory over his World Cup partner Ricardo Pietreczko, converting six doubles from eight attempts.

The German number one will now meet Jonny Clayton in the Last 16 after the Welshman averaged 105.3 in a 6-4 victory over Nathan Aspinall, aided by a trio of 11-darters.

Day Two of the year’s penultimate European Tour event saw six seeds crash out at St. Jakobshalle, as the race for World Grand Prix and European Championship qualification continued.

Luke Woodhouse and Jermaine Wattimena were Saturday’s stand-out performers, and they will lock horns for a place in the quarter-finals.

Woodhouse produced a career-best performance to extend Dave Chisnall’s losing run on the European Tour, averaging 110.7 and converting 121 and 160 checkouts to celebrate an imperious 6-2 win.

Wattimena then delivered a masterclass of his own, averaging 107.35 in his 6-1 demolition of Josh Rock – a European Tour runner-up in Antwerp and Prague in recent weeks.

Chisnall’s defeat leaves his hopes of World Grand Prix qualification hanging in the balance, with Krzysztof Ratajski now assured of his spot in next week’s double-start event.

Ratajski emerged victorious in a compelling deciding-leg clash against World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, surviving three match darts in the penultimate leg.

The Pole’s reward is a third round clash against Stephen Bunting – who produced a blistering late burst to account for Chris Landman, registering legs of 13, 11 and 11 darts to wrap up a 6-3 win.

World number one Luke Humphries impressed in his 6-2 victory over Callan Rydz, pinning six of his seven attempts at double to move through to a meeting with Ryan Searle.

Humphries produced a trio of ton-plus checkouts during an eye-catching display, following up finishes of 117 and 108 with a match-winning 136 checkout.

Searle, meanwhile, won through a high-quality encounter against Niels Zonneveld, producing checkouts of 114 and 136 to advance with a 101 average to the Dutchman’s 102.

Danny Noppert also delivered on Swiss soil, averaging 104 to edge past William O’Connor and end the Irishman’s World Grand Prix hopes in the process.

Noppert, runner-up at last weekend’s Hungarian Darts Trophy, now faces Rob Cross – who powered past Richard Veenstra 6-2 to boost his own hopes of European Championship qualification.

Gian van Veen and Ryan Joyce will also go head-to-head in the Last 16 after winning through contrasting ties against Dirk van Duijvenbode and James Wade.

Van Veen averaged 102 and landed a 170 checkout in his brutal whitewash of Van Duijvenbode, before Joyce edged out third seed Wade in a gruelling last-leg shootout.

Chris Dobey averaged 101 to overcome Austrian icon Mensur Suljovic in the final match of the evening session, while Norway’s Cor Dekker compounded Peter Wright’s big stage woes to progress to the final day of a European Tour event for the first time in his career.

Swiss Darts Trophy 2025 Day Two Results

Saturday September 27

Second Round

Afternoon Session
Ryan Searle 6-3 Niels Zonneveld
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright 3-6 Cor Dekker
Mike De Decker 5-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
Rob Cross 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Gian van Veen 6-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Danny Noppert 6-5 William O’Connor
Ritchie Edhouse w/o v Ross Smith

Evening Session
James Wade 5-6 Ryan Joyce
Martin Schindler 6-2 Ricardo Pietreczko
Josh Rock 1-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Humphries 6-2 Callan Rydz
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Damon Heta 5-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Chris Landman
Chris Dobey 6-4 Mensur Suljovic