The PDC European Tour is back in Belgium with its tenth stop of the season. Around 14,000 fans experience a top-class tournament at the EXPO Antwerp.
The crown goes to none other than Dave Chisnall, who celebrates his eighth title in his 100th European Tour event.
“It’s unbelievable that I was able to win in my 100th European Tour event. My manager said to me backstage, ‘if you’re going to play your hundredth, then win it’. I’m very happy and delighted to be the winner here,” said Dave Chisnall after his victory.
The Englishman’s path to the final featured wins over James Wade (6 – 2), Gabriel Clemens (6 – 2), Peter Wright (6 – 5) and Chris Dobey (7 – 5).
In a close last match of the tournament Dave Chisnall wins 8 – 6 against Ricardo Pietreczko and thus becomes the first winner of the Flanders Darts Trophy. He also won 30,000 pounds in prize money. Ricardo Pietreczko reached his second European Tour final and is the first German to achieve this feat.
From a Belgian perspective, only one player made it to round two. “Goldfinger” Andrew Gilding knocked the Belgian number one Dimitri Van den Bergh out of the tournament on the first day of the Flanders Darts Trophy. Although Mike de Decker briefly kept the hosts’ hopes alive after a 6 – 2 win over Richard Veenstra, the 28-year-old was then beaten 6 – 5 by Ross Smith in the second round after leading 4 – 0.
Besides Ricardo Pietreczko, Germans Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens were also qualified for the Flanders Darts Trophy. Schindler was defeated 6 – 2 in the second round by the winner of Hildesheim, Peter Wright. Clemens survived round one after three first round defeats in a row and won the decider after a 107 checkout against Martin Lukeman. Against Michael van Gerwen, the German Giant achieves his first ever win against the three-time World Champion with an outstanding average of over 107 points. “Gaga’s” trip to Belgium ended in the round of 16 with a 6 – 2 defeat against the eventual winner Dave Chisnall.
The PDC Europe thus bids farewell to Belgium for this year and moves on to Budapest in two weeks time. The Belgians can once again look forward to unforgettable darts moments in 2025. The European Tour will return to Wieze from March 7th – 9th, before the best darts players in the world return to Antwerp from August 29th – 31st.
