Felix Höfer/PDC Europe

Dramatic opening day of Dutch Darts Championship 2025 comes to a close as Nike Springer dumps out home hero Jermaine Wattimena

Originally posted on Dartsnews.com | Last updated May 24, 2025 12:24 PM ET

The opening of action at the 2025 Dutch Darts Championship in Rosmalen has come to a conclusion after Niko Springer closed out the opening round with 6-3 win over Jermaine Wattimena late on Friday night.

Earlier in the evening, there had been mixed results for the past and future of Dutch darts in a pair of enthralling first round encounters. For the prodigious talented Gian Van Veen it was a first round exit, whilst the legendary Raymond van Barneveld prevailed in a tight deciding leg.

Boris Krcmar continued to prove he's one of the most dangerous players outside the PDC Tour Card ranks with a thrilling 6-5 victory over Gian van Veen on Friday night in Rosmalen.

The Croatian delivered a top-class performance to silence the partisan crowd, averaging over 100, hitting five 180s, and checking out at an impressive 42.9%. Van Veen pushed him all the way in front of his home fans, but Krcmar held his nerve in the deciding leg to seal a memorable win.

Raymond van Barneveld however, did made it through to the second round in Rosmalen, but the Dutch legend was made to work hard for it in a dramatic 6-5 win over Jerry Hendriks.

Despite averaging nearly 13 points higher than his fellow countryman, Van Barneveld couldn’t shake off Hendriks, who stayed in touch throughout. The match went the distance, and it was ‘Barney’ who held firm in the deciding leg to avoid an early exit on home soil.

Elsewhere on the night, there were also wins for the likes of Dirk van Duijvenbode, Cameron Menzies, Mickey Mansell, Daryl Gurney and Ryan Meikle.

All these winners and more from the afternoon, will now return to the action tomorrow as they take on some of the PDC's leading lights on Saturday when the 16 seeded players enter the battle for European Tour glory in the Netherlands.

This article first appeared on Dartsnews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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