Perfect leg, then the win
Luke Woodhouse found the perfect leg in the fourth leg of his first-round match at the European Championship in Dortmund, and he went on to beat Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3. Two 180s, then a treble 20, a treble 19 and double 12 to finish. He did it while throwing second in the leg.
“It felt really good,” he told ITV Sport. He added that he did not want to be “one of those people who hit a nine-darter then lost the game.” He didn’t. Woodhouse said he is “feeling really good at the moment” after “a very good year.”
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Humphries out, Huybrechts in
The night had another twist before a dart was thrown. Luke Humphries withdrew through illness, and Kim Huybrechts took his place. Huybrechts made the most of it, beating Ryan Searle 6-1 with an average of 103.81.
Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price beat Rob Cross 6-2, winning four legs in a row from 1-1 with a 127 bull checkout and a 135 finish. Stephen Bunting edged Danny Noppert 6-5 in a decider, closing it with a 160 checkout. Damon Heta came back from 5-3 down to beat James Wade 6-5, and Cameron Menzies beat Niels Zonneveld 6-3. Ross Smith and defending champion Gian van Veen also advanced.
Second-round matchups
Woodhouse now faces Van Veen, who beat Andrew Gilding 6-4 and could become the first back-to-back European Championship winner since 2018. Price plays Menzies, Smith meets Heta, and Bunting takes on Huybrechts.
Woodhouse has the confidence. Van Veen has the title. That one will be worth watching.
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