The 2025 Euro Tour arrived at its final destination of the year – Hildesheim – where 48 competitors began the weekend full of hope, confidence, and ambition for glory. Willy, Wessel and Woody rose to the occasion as events got underway at Halle 39.
Over a decade ago, the German Darts Championship became the first Euro Tour event to take place on German soil. Thirteen years on from Phil Taylor’s triumph, four previous winners returned to the stage, including the reigning champion, Peter Wright.
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It was the final match of the evening that provided the most drama as Irishman William O’Connor (pictured) kept his hopes of qualifying for next weekend’s European Championship alive – at the expense of Andrew Gilding, whose chances now hang by a thread. The Irishman started brightly, taking a 3–1 lead and soon moving within sight of victory at 5–2.
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But Gilding is a gritty character, and if he’s ever under pressure, you’d never know it. Goldfinger clawed back to within one as the Limerick man continued to waste chances. Eventually, a hugely relieved O’Connor pinned the winning double. In his post-match interview, he mentioned his daughter’s 18th birthday more times than he missed doubles – quite a few, in other words. His reward? A meeting with German number one Martin Schindler. Win that, and he might feel like it’s his birthday too.
Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski also looks safe for Dortmund after wrapping up a comprehensive win over the lesser-spotted Springer brother, Felix. Even with his older and more famous sibling, Niko, offering encouragement during the walk-on, the young German looked visibly nervous. And when you’re up against a man as calm and unflappable as Ratajski, that tends to show. Springer managed to take a leg, but in fairness, the 6–1 scoreline felt about right. Ryan Searle awaits.
It was also encouraging to see Cameron Menzies back in solid form. The Scot has been through the mill recently with tabloid misquotes and social media gossip, but he produced an excellent all-round display this afternoon – strong scoring, clinical finishing, and just that little bit more consistency than his opponent, Wesley Plaisier. Cammie now faces Rob Cross in what looks a mouth-watering clash.
There will be at least two Irishmen in round two after Steve Lennon ended Jeffrey De Graaf’s miserable Euro Tour season, consigning the Dutch-born Swede to a winless campaign. The tale of the tape showed Lennon was simply more efficient on the outer ring. Both players had the same number of attempts, but Lennon’s 6–2 victory tells the story. He now faces Damon Heta.
Youngster Wessel Nijman cruised through to Saturday without breaking a sweat. It was a match he was expected to win comfortably against the home qualifier Martin Kramer, and he did exactly that, dropping just two legs to book a mouth-watering tie with Mike De Decker.
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English duo Ryan Joyce and Luke Woodhouse also advanced with wins over compatriots Justin Hood and Tom Bissell respectively. Both are sitting side by side on the European Championship Order of Merit – names already shaded in dark green and therefore safely qualified for next weekend in Germany. Joyce now sticks with the English theme and meets Stephen Bunting, while Woodhouse go Dutch, taking on Danny Noppert.
And finally, Niels Zonneveld rounded off the night with a commanding victory over the dangerous Darius Labanauskas. The Lithuanian, this season’s Challenge Tour leader, is always a potential banana skin, but he wasn’t quite at the races today. Zonneveld was, and that about sums it up. Fellow Dutchman Gian van Veen awaits Triple Z in round two. For Niels, if he wants to make it to the European Championship Finals, the task is far easier to understand than to achieve - win the tournament outright.
A couple of hours’ break now for the fans in Hildesheim – then it’s back to finish off the second-round fixtures.
PDC German Darts Championship 2025
First Round
Afternoon Session
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Wesley Plaisier
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Darius Labanauskas
Jeffrey de Graaf 2-6 Steve Lennon
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Martin Kramer
Ryan Joyce 6-2 Justin Hood
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Tom Bissell
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-1 Felix Springer
Andrew Gilding 4-6 William O'Connor
Evening Session
Jermaine Wattimena v Keane Barry
Daryl Gurney v Christian Kist
Ricardo Pietreczko v Radek Szaganski
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Karel Sedlacek
Raymond van Barneveld v Kevin Troppmann
Ricky Evans v Joe Cullen
Gabriel Clemens v Tomislav Rosandic
Nathan Aspinall v Maximilian Czerwinski
Saturday October 18
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Gian van Veen v Niels Zonneveld
Damon Heta v Steve Lennon
Danny Noppert v Luke Woodhouse
Ryan Searle v Krzysztof Ratajski
Mike De Decker v Wessel Nijman
Rob Cross v Cameron Menzies
Peter Wright v Pietreczko/Szaganski
Dave Chisnall v Clemens/Rosandic
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Ross Smith v Aspinall/Czerwinski
Jonny Clayton v Van Barneveld/Troppmann
Gerwyn Price v Gurney/Kist
James Wade v Wattimena/Barry
Chris Dobey v Van Duijvenbode/Sedlacek
Martin Schindler v William O'Connor
Josh Rock v Evans/Cullen
Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce
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