Over 12,000 fans celebrated the inaugural edition of the Slovak Darts Open at the Incheba Expo in Bratislava. With an 8-3 final victory over Rob Cross, Wessel Nijman won his second European Tour title of the year, securing the £35,000 prize money. For the 25-year-old Dutchman, it was also his eighth PDC title of this calendar year—more than any other professional on the tour.
Both players started strong in the final, holding their respective opening legs. Nijman set an early statement with a 104 checkout, while Cross responded with a 74 finish for the first break to take the lead. However, Nijman remained unfazed: with an immediate 68 re-break and a 116 finish, he took control of the match. Both players maintained a high standard throughout the entire game, averaging 102.57 (Cross) and 103.80 points (Nijman), but Nijman was more clinical with his doubles. Cross managed to close the gap to 5-3, but there was little resistance left after that. With a 12-darter to make it 7-3 and a final 74 checkout on double 10, Nijman sealed the historic success and crowned himself the first champion in the history of the Slovak Darts Open.
“Sometimes you have those days where you feel this can be a winning day because you feel so confident and today was a day like that.”
Nijman Continues Dream Year
The dream year of Wessel Nijman shows no signs of stopping. Just five days before his triumph in Bratislava, the Dutchman had captured his sixth Players Championship title. He has now become the first player ever to win two European Tour titles in this calendar year, bringing his career total to eleven PDC titles from just 13 final appearances. With this victory, Nijman climbed to 14th in the world rankings. Meanwhile, Rob Cross missed out on his third career European Tour title, but is clearly on the rise again following his title at Players Championship 22 earlier in the week.
Sykes Reaches Semifinals on Debut
The biggest underdog story of the weekend was written by Tom Sykes. The Englishman celebrated his European Tour debut in Bratislava and immediately reached the semifinals. He is the first player this year to achieve this feat on their tour debut. In the entire history of the European Tour, only seven other players had accomplished this before the world number 90. The most recent was Luke Littler, who won the Belgian Darts Open on his debut. On his way to the semifinals, Sykes first knocked out the two German competitors Niko Springer and Martin Schindler, followed by Cameron Menzies and Jermaine Wattimena. It was only in the semifinals that Rob Cross proved to be a step too far (2-7).
De Decker Ends Losing Streak
Mike De Decker put an end to his personal dry spell in Bratislava. Following seven consecutive European Tour defeats—the Belgian’s last victory having come at the Poland Darts Open—he had already shown a clear improvement in form at the World Cup of Darts and confirmed this with his quarterfinal appearance in Bratislava.
Just like three weeks earlier at the ELTEN Safety Shoes Baltic Sea Darts Open in Kiel, the top 8 seeds faced major difficulties in Bratislava as well—not a single one of them advanced past the last 16. Top seed Gian van Veen lost his opening match for the fourth time this season.
Six Debutants in Bratislava
The Slovak Darts Open marked a premiere for six players. The four Slovakian host nation qualifiers Gabriel Varaljay, Juraj Holub, Adrian Dudek, and Jan Sliacky—who became the first Slovakian player ever to appear on the European Tour—as well as Peter Kelemen, all exited in the first round. Sykes was the only one of the six debutants to make a major impact.
Next Stop: Leverkusen
After a short breather, the action continues from July 10 to 12 at the ELTEN Safety Shoes European Darts Open in the Ostermann Arena in Leverkusen. Tickets are available HERE.
