Michael van Gerwen’s campaign at the Flanders Darts Trophy came to an abrupt end in Antwerp when he was edged out by Australia’s Damon Heta in a nail‑biting second‑round encounter. The match was a true test of nerve, with both competitors holding their throw until the final leg, where Heta, having secured the crucial bull‑off, kept his composure and clinched a 6‑5 victory to secure a place in the Sunday finals. This win marked the second decisive leg Heta survived within a 24‑hour period. Earlier on Friday night, Heta had also halted the progress of 22‑year‑old Beau Greaves, winning by the same 6‑5 margin.
Greaves, who had made history just a week earlier in Prague by becoming the first woman to claim a match on the European Tour, was unable to build on that momentum and fell short in Antwerp. The evening’s most dominant performance came from Nathan Aspinall, who dispatched Niko Springer 6‑1 while posting an average just under 106. "It was a great performance," Aspinall said afterward. "I saw a stat that said I've been playing the fourth best for a couple of months, so tonight I tried not to put pressure on myself and enjoy it.
I finished strongly, scored well, gave the crowd something to cheer about and happy days – onto tomorrow!" Other notable results from the round included Wessel Nijman opening with a spectacular 170 checkout before beating Sebastian Bialecki 6‑4, earning his ticket to another European Tour finals day. Top seed Gian van Veen also advanced, overcoming Gabriel Clemens 6‑3 and ending the German’s hopes of qualifying for the World Grand Prix. The qualification race, which wraps up in Antwerp, saw several high‑profile exits. Brendan Dolan’s bid was thwarted by Stephen Bunting, who edged him 6‑5 on Saturday evening.
Martin Schindler’s last‑ditch effort collapsed as he averaged 84.67 in a 6‑4 loss to Rob Cross; the former world champion seized the moment after Schindler missed a chance to finish on 60. In the afternoon session, Kevin Doets survived a match dart to defeat Krzysztof Ratajski 6‑5. Ratajski had led 4‑1 before Doets rallied, winning two legs on the spin and then pinning double 10 to level at 4‑4, forcing a decider where Doets held his nerve. The rest of the qualifiers were settled by Danny Noppert, Ryan Searle, Chris Dobey, Ross Smith, Jermaine Wattimena and Luke Woodhouse.
Dobey dropped only a single leg against Niels Zonneveld, while Woodhouse dispatched William O'Connor 6‑3. Friday’s action had already seen Dirk van Duijvenbode eliminated by Brendan Dolan (6‑3) and Joe Cullen fall 6‑3 to Belgian qualifier Andy Baetens. Home favourite Kim Huybrechts suffered a heartbreaking decider loss to Sebastian Bialecki after a walk‑on that fired up the Antwerp crowd. The schedule for the remainder of the tournament is as follows: Saturday, 12 September – Round Two (Afternoon Session, 12:00 BST): Kevin Doets 6‑5 Krzysztof Ratajski, Jermaine Wattimena 6‑3 Karel Sedlacek, Rob Cross 6‑4 Martin Schindler, Danny Noppert 6‑2 Chris Landman, Ryan Searle 6‑2 Andy Baetens, Chris Dobey 6‑1 Niels Zonneveld, Luke Woodhouse 6‑3 William O'Connor, Ross Smith 6‑2 Jeffrey de Graaf.
Evening Session (18:00 BST): Josh Rock 3‑6 Ryan Joyce, Gerwyn Price 6‑3 Bradley Brooks, James Wade 6‑2 Jim Long, Gian van Veen 6‑3 Gabriel Clemens, Michael van Gerwen 5‑6 Damon Heta, Nathan Aspinall 6‑1 Niko Springer, Stephen Bunting 6‑5 Brendan Dolan, Wessel Nijman 6‑4 Sebastian Bialecki. Sunday, 13 September – Round Three (Afternoon Session, 13:00 local/12:00 BST): Gian van Veen v Kevin Doets, Ryan Searle v Chris Dobey, Ryan Joyce v Jermaine Wattimena, Gerwyn Price v Ross Smith, James Wade v Rob Cross, Danny Noppert v Wessel Nijman, Damon Heta v Luke Woodhouse, Stephen Bunting v Nathan Aspinall.
Evening Session (19:00 local/18:00 BST) will feature the quarter‑finals, semi‑finals and the final. Sky Sports continues to be the primary broadcaster for darts, covering the upcoming World Grand Prix (28 September–4 October), the Grand Slam of Darts (14–22 November) and the World Darts Championship (10 December–3 January). Fans can also stream live darts and additional content via NOW without a contract.