Aileen de Graaf and Beau Greaves are once again in the final of the TOTO Dutch Open Darts. The two ladies were too strong for Natalie Gilbert and Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the semi-finals respectively.

Saturday started with 320 ladies, with Aileen de Graaf as the defending champion. Right from the start, we witnessed a big surprise: Priscilla Steenbergen took a 2-0 lead but lost 3-2 to Chantal Niebiek.

Lorraine Winstanley and the Czech Anna Votavova were the next names to fall. Winstanley had to admit defeat to Christine Savvery (4-1), while Votavova went down 4-3 against Lerena Rietbergen. The 16-year-old Indian Mahi Bosmia made an impression. She defeated Jo Rolls with 3-1 among others. Eventually, all 8 seeded players reached the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals, Beau Greaves had no problems with Lorraine Hyde (4-1). And Noa-Lynn van Leuven showed her class by winning 4-1 against Kirsty Hutchinson with an average of 91. Aileen de Graaf remained in the race to defend her title, defeating compatriot Anca Zijlstra. Natalie Gilbert completed the quartet of semi-finalists: she managed to win impressively with 4-3 against O’Sullivan.

After the semi-finals, it turns out that we see the same ladies in the final as last year. In the semi-final, Van Leuven had two darts at the double to make it 2-2 against Greaves but missed. Greaves won the leg, then clinched the match 4-1 with a 97 finish. De Graaf won 4-2 against Gilbert, after falling behind 1-0.

128 in the race
The number of contenders for the TOTO Dutch Open Darts title has significantly decreased. Out of over 3400 participants, only 128 remain, including Christian Kist and Richard Veentra. We will see these 128 players back on the final day tomorrow.

Text: DartsActueel

Foto: Bas van den Berk