Second round lineup complete at European Darts Open 2025 as dazzling Daryl Gurney impresses against Richard Veenstra

The second round lineup is complete at the 2025 European Darts Open in Leverkusen, with Daryl Gurney completing the lineup for this Saturday thanks to a 6-2 win over Richard Veenstra in the final game of Friday evening.

On a night that saw wins for the likes of Luke Woodhouse, Ryan Joyce, Niko Springer, Cameron Menzies and Andreas Harrysson, it was the performances of Ricardo Pietreczko and Bradley Brooks that stood out in particular.

Backed by a vocal home crowd, 'Pikachu' saw off qualifier Moritz Bohrmann in a largely one-sided affair to book his place in round two.

While Pietreczko averaged below the 90 mark, he remained in control throughout and never looked in danger of letting the match slip away. It wasn't his most polished performance, but the local hero did more than enough to ease through and give the fans exactly the start they wanted.

Speaking after the match, Pietreczko exclusively told our German sister channel Dartsnews.de: “At the moment, I’m feeling amazing – everything’s going brilliantly... The Matchplay race is definitely in my head backstage – but on stage, I honestly don’t care about it at all. When you’re up there, you just want to win that match.”

Following Pietreczko’s victory, the standard rose sharply as Bradley Brooks and Joe Cullen served up a Friday night classic in Leverkusen. In a match that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, it was Brooks who eventually prevailed in a dramatic last-leg decider.

Both players had darts to win it, but it was 'Bam Bam' who held his nerve when it mattered most, finding double 8 to seal a hard-fought victory and a spot in round two. A high-quality tussle from start to finish, this one could prove to be an early contender for match of the night.