Preview Friday night Flanders Darts Trophy: Michael Smith, Raymond van Barneveld and Joe Cullen in action

From Friday, August 29 to Sunday, August 31, the Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp is on the program. This is the tenth Euro Tour tournament of the season and Friday night sees some big names in action.

The Flanders Darts Trophy kicks off a series of Euro Tour tournaments before the final finale later in October: the European Darts Championship. The 32 best players on the Euro Tour qualify for this final tournament, so the coming weeks will decide who we will see back at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund at the end of next month. A number of well-known names like Michael Smith and Raymond van Barneveld are currently in 32nd place and will have to work hard in the coming tournaments to qualify.

Dave Chisnall managed to win the 2024 edition and thus starts the tournament as the defending champion. Last year he defeated German Ricardo Pietreczko 8-6 in the final. Friday afternoon the opening session is scheduled in Antwerp, and below you can read which players will appear at the oche.

Michael Smith v Mario Vandenbogaerde

Former World Champion, Michael Smith takes on Mario Vandenbogaerde. Vandenbogaerde managed to qualify as a Host Nation Qualifier by defeating Kris Mievis 6-3 in the deciding match. Super Mario' was active on the Euro Tour three times this year, but did not make it past the second round. Michael Smith has been struggling with injuries for some time now and it always remains to be seen how he will play. Bully Boy' was present at 7 Euro Tour tournaments this year, but could not make a single appearance. His best result was a quarterfinal at the European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, where he eventually lost 6-5 to Luke Woodhouse. On paper both men should be evenly matched at this point, so form of the day will most likely be the deciding factor.

Player Details: Michael Smith

Total Earnings:	£4,239,800
Order of Merit:	23
9 Darters:	9
Tour Card Years:	14
Highest Average:	132.61
Highest TV Average:	113.62

Best Result

World Championship	Winner	2023
World Matchplay	Final	2019
Grand Slam	Winner	2022
World Grand Prix	Semi Final	2023
Premier League	Final	2018
UK Open	Final	2022
Players Championship Finals	Quarter Final	2020
European Championship	Final	2022
Masters	Final	2020
World Series of Darts Finals	Final	2018, 2024
World Cup	Winner	2024
European Tour	Winner	2014, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023
Players Championship	Winner	2012, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

Other Victories

World Series of Darts	Winner	2023, 2022, 2018
UK Open Qualifier 3	Winner	2018
UK Open Qualifier 5	Winner	2015
World Youth Championship	Winner	2013
Development Tour	Winner	2012 (x5)
UK Open Qualifier 1	Winner	2011

Ryan Joyce v Ricardo Pietreczko

Next up for action are Ryan Joyce and Ricardo Pietreczko. Pietreczko has only missed one Euro Tour tournament this year, but did not really impress at any of the events he attended. Only at the Dutch Darts Championship in Rosmalen did 'Pikachu' reach the quarterfinals, before losing 6-2 to fellow countryman Niko Springer. Joyce is having a very good year on the European Tour. At the end of March he reached the final of the European Darts Trophy, where he lost 8-4 to Nathan Aspinall. A month later he reached the quarterfinals of the Germand Darts Grand Prix and the semi-finals of the Austrian Darts Open. Partly due to these good performances, 'Relentless' is currently ranked 12th on the European Tour Order of Merit. On paper, these gentlemen appear to be evenly matched, yet we are betting that Joyce will be the narrow favorite due to his recent performance on the Euro Tour.

Joe Cullen v Ian White

In the third match of the evening, Joe Cullen takes on Ian White. Cullen is not in the best period of his darts career and did not manage to get past the second round once on the European Tour this year. The last three events 'Rockstar' was even eliminated directly in the first round. White has only played two Euro Tour tournaments this year, one of which he managed to reach the second round. Frankly, this match can go either way as far as we are concerned. Both men have not been playing great lately, so it could go either way.

Player Details: Joe Cullen

Total Earnings:	£1,912,825
Order of Merit:	25
9 Darters:	2
Tour Card Years:	14
Highest Average:	113.77
Highest TV Average:	108.65

Best Result

World Championship	Last 16	2021, 2023, 2024
World Matchplay	Semi Final	2023
Grand Slam	Quarter Final	2022
World Grand Prix	Semi Final	2023
Premier League	Final	2022
UK Open	Quarter Final	2016
Players Championship Finals	Quarter Final	2020, 2022
European Championship	Semi Final	2018, 2021
Masters	Winner	2022
World Series of Darts Finals	Quarter Final	2016, 2022
European Tour	Winner	2019, 2020, 2022
Players Championship	Winner	2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025

Other Victories

Development Tour

Winner

2011 (x3)

Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek

Wessel Nijman will face Czech player Karel Sedlacek. Nijman has been very consistent on the Euro Tour this year, reaching the semi-finals twice and the quarter-finals once in all his appearances. Partly due to his consistency, the Dutchman is currently ranked 8th on the European Tour Order of Merit, which means he is almost certain to participate in the European Darts Championship. Sedlacek played three Euro Tour tournaments this year, reaching the quarter-finals once. With Nijman's consistency on the Euro Tour, the 25-year-old darts player is expected to reach the second round at the expense of 'Evil Charlie'.

Dirk van Duijvenbode v Jeffrey de Graaf

Then we see a sort of Dutch showdown in Antwerp. Dirk van Duijvenbode will play the Dutch Swede Jeffrey de Graaf. This year Van Duijvenbode reached the semifinals of the European Darts Grand Prix, but lost 7-2 to Gary Anderson. A week earlier he also reached the quarterfinals of the Austrian Darts Open, which currently puts him thirteenth on the European Tour Order of Merit. For De Graaf it will be his debut on the Euro Tour this year, but the 34-year-old showed recently that he is in good shape. The Dutch Swede captured his first PDC title earlier this week by winning Players Championship 24. He defeated Stephen Bunting in the final 8-7 and threw an average of over 102. Van Duijvenbode will equally be the favorite on paper, but he will probably have to pull out all the stops to stop De Graaf.

Daryl Gurney v Callan Rydz

After this semi-Dutch affair, it is the turn of Daryl Gurney and Callan Rydz. Gurney has been fairly consistent on the Euro Tour this year, with four of the seven tournaments where he managed to reach the last 16. His best result was a quarterfinal finish at the Austrian Darts Open. This shows that "Superchin" almost always manages to get through the first and second rounds. Rydz has already played four Euro Tour tournaments this year, but without success. 'The Riot' was immediately eliminated in the first round in each of his participations. With that in mind, and the fact that Gurney almost never loses straight away in the first round, the Northern Irishman seems to have the best papers in advance to win this match.

Mike De Decker v Martin Lukeman

In the penultimate match, Mike De Decker will be in action against Martin Lukeman. De Decker started his Euro Tour campaign excellently with a final place at the very first event in Wieze, in which he eventually had to acknowledge his superiority to Luke Littler. After that, however, 'Real Deal's results on the Euro Tour lagged a bit behind. The Belgian did show that he is in good shape earlier this month, however, by reaching the final of the World Series Down Under in Australia. Even there, however, as in Wieze, it was Luke Littler who prevented him from keeping the trophy in the air. Lukeman has not yet been very successful on the European Tour this year. Only at the European Darts Grand Prix did he make it to the quarterfinals. On paper, De Decker will be the clear favorite to reach the next round.

Player Details: Mike De Decker

Total Earnings:	£575,038
Order of Merit:	20
9 Darters:	1
Tour Card Years:	9
Highest Average:	113.74
Highest TV Average:	104.49

Raymond van Barneveld v Xanti van den Bergh

Finally, we see a duel between the Netherlands and Belgium, as Raymond van Barneveld takes on Xanti van den Bergh. Van Barneveld has been present at every Euro Tour tournament this year, but so far the Dutchman did not manage to play very well. His best result came at the European Darts Grand Prix, where 'Barney' reached the last 16, but lost 6-5 to Martin Lukeman. Van den Bergh, Dimitri's younger brother, managed to qualify as Host Nation Qualifier for the tournament in Antwerp by surprisingly beating Andy Baetens 6-4 in the deciding round. The 21-year-old thus immediately makes his debut on the European Tour. Normally, with all his experience, Van Barneveld should be the favorite for victory, but who knows, maybe Van den Bergh can throw free throws in front of his home crowd and surprise.

Player Details: Raymond van Barneveld

Total Earnings:	£3,650,338
Order of Merit:	34
9 Darters:	10
Tour Card Years:	14
Highest Average:	115.73
Highest TV Average:	113.38

Playing schedule Friday night Flanders Darts Trophy 2025

Schedule of Play

Speelschema
Friday 29 August First round Evening session (starts 18:00) Michael Smith v Mario Vandenbogaerde Ryan Joyce v Ricardo Pietreczko Joe Cullen v Ian White Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek Dirk van Duijvenbode v Jeffrey De Graaf Daryl Gurney v Callan Rydz Mike De Decker v Martin Lukeman Raymond van Barneveld v Xanti van den Bergh