Niels Zonneveld won his first senior PDC title with an 8-5 victory over Danny Noppert in the Dutch Darts Championship final on Sunday.
An entertaining all-Dutch final in Maastricht saw a tight contest with the score locked at 2-2 before Zonneveld won three successive legs to pull away.
Noppert responded to close the gap to 5-4 but Zonneveld regained control and won back-to-back legs – including a checkout of 157 – to earn a 7-4 lead.
Despite a tough battle against Noppert, Zonneveld was then able to see the match out with a 81 checkout, hitting double three to seal the title.
The 28-year-old’s route to the final saw him beat Stephen Bunting 7-4 in the semi-finals and that match came following a stunning comeback with a final-leg 6-5 victory in the last eight. Up against Wessel Nijman, Zonneveld recovered from trailing 5-3 to level at 5-5 and was able to pounce after his fellow Dutchman missed a match dart.
Noppert also impressed in his run to the final, claiming a 7-5 win over compatriot Gian van Veen in the semi-finals to book his place in the tournament’s showpiece.
It followed a comfortable quarter-final showing from Noppert, who recorded another impressive average on his way to reaching the last four, registering 113.42 in his 6-2 win over Luke Woodhouse.
In the quarter-finals, Bunting clinched a 6-3 win over Damon Heta and hit a 148 checkout, while Van Veen beat Ryan Searle 6-3.
Earlier on Sunday, round three provided some upsets as Gerwyn Price was beaten 6-4 by Zonneveld and Nathan Aspinall was thumped 6-1 by Bunting.
Sunday’s Dutch Darts Championship results
Round three
Gian van Veen 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle 6-4 Ross Smith
William O’Connor 4-6 Luke Woodhouse
Danny Noppert 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Gerwyn Price 4-6 Niels Zonneveld
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta 6-4 Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Nathan Aspinall
Quarter-finals
Danny Noppert 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Gian van Veen 6-3 Ryan Searle
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Wessel Nijman
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Damon Heta
Semi-Finals
Danny Noppert 7-5 Gian van Veen
Niels Zonneveld 7-4 Stephen Bunting
Final
Niels Zonneveld 8-5 Danny Noppert
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