Gian van Veen achieved an impressive victory at Players Championship 23 in Hildesheim, Germany, on Wednesday. In the third round against Ryan Meikle, the 23-year-old darter threw a nine-darter and recorded an average of 111.68 points per three darts.
Van Veen was too strong for Meikle in his third-round match, winning 6-2. The Gelderlander quickly took a 3-0 lead, after which he provided the highlight of the match in the fourth leg.
‘GVV’ threw the nine-darter in a classic way: seven times triple-20, once triple-19, and a double-12 as the final dart. Meikle tried to fight his way back into the match, but couldn’t reach Van Veen’s top level.
In the fourth round, Van Veen was unable to continue his success. The darter from Poederoijen took the lead against Bradley Brooks, but relinquished that margin. Van Veen lost 4-6 to the Englishman and missed the quarterfinals.
Jermaine Wattimena and Wessel Nijman did manage to reach the quarterfinals. Wattimena was too strong for his compatriot Danny Noppert, winning 4-6. Nijman won 6-4 against the Swede Andreas Harrysson.
Nijman (PDC-40) will face Englishman Ross Smith, the number 14 in the world, in the quarterfinals. For Wattimena (PDC-30), a meeting with the world number 24, Ryan Joyce, awaits.