Wessel Nijman narrowly missed out on a place in the final of the European Darts Open in Leverkusen on Sunday. The Dutchman lost in the semi-finals to world-class player Nathan Aspinall: 6-7 in legs.
The 24-year-old Nijman had a very strong start and took a break lead, but he relinquished it in the final phase against the nine-year-older Aspinall. The decision came in a thirteenth leg.
Nijman had a poor start to that final leg, giving Aspinall his first match darts. He converted them in a curious way. He threw twice in the double eight to finish a 32-finish. Nijman, who averaged 99.36 points per three darts, was left disappointed.
Nijman was having a strong tournament in Leverkusen. On his way to the semi-finals, the North Hollander successively defeated Brendan Dolan, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Stephen Bunting. He is 43rd in the world rankings.
The final in Leverkusen is between Aspinall and Damon Heta. The latter was too strong for Jonny Clayton in the other semi-final with 7-3.
For the other Dutch players, the curtain had already fallen on Friday and Saturday. Raymond van Barneveld was surprised in the first round by the Swede Andreas Harrysson.