What a fantastic start to this great darts weekend in Assen! De Bonte Wever was the stage on Thursday for the warm-up tournaments of the Dutch Open Darts 2026. No fewer than 1,254 players competed in the open category, while 122 players took part in the women’s warm-up event.

Newly crowned Lakeside champion Jimmy van Schie proved to be the best of the more than twelve hundred participants on Thursday and claimed the open warm-up title. The player from Breda defeated fellow Dutchman Wesley Plaisier — one of the surprises of the most recent PDC World Championship — in an exciting final. The match ended 5–3 in favor of the Lakeside champion.

Jimmy had already eliminated former Lakeside winner Andy Baetens in the last 16 (4–2). In the quarterfinals he beat Tom van den Hoogen 4–0, and in the semifinals he brushed aside Danny van Klompenburg without dropping a single leg once again (4–0). Wesley, meanwhile, defeated Micha Boekelaar (4–3) and Patrick Maat (4–1), then secured his place in the final by overcoming Wesley van Trijp in a deciding leg (4–3).

Emine Dursun
The women’s tournament was won by Emine Dursun from Turkey. The number seventeen on the international WDF ranking defeated Dutch player Anca Zijlstra in the warm-up final, winning convincingly 4–0. From the last 16 onward, Dursun dropped only one leg in total.

She first beat Adriana van Wijgerden-Vermaat (3–0), followed by a 3–0 quarterfinal victory over Annegret Willkomm. In the semifinals, Emine Dursun proved too strong for the Netherlands’ Sharona Veld (3–1). Anca reached the final by defeating Tineke Kalsbeek (3–1), Melissa Landkroon (3–1), and Sharon Straatsma in a deciding leg (3–2).

After this excellent opening day of the Dutch Open Darts in Assen, the tournament continues on Friday with the pairs events. Once again, congratulations to today’s winners: Jimmy van Schie and Emine Dursun!

Picture: Jos Groen