Valters Melderis and Marko Kantele claimed a title apiece on the 2025 PDC Nordic & Baltic ProTour over the weekend, as Sweden’s Johan Engstrom completed a European Tour qualification double on home soil.
The year’s second weekend of Nordic & Baltic action saw ProTour Events 3-4 and Qualifiers for ET4-6 held in Gothenburg from March 28-30, as Latvia’s Melderis celebrated his maiden PDC title.
The 40-year-old ran out a 6-4 winner against Engstrom in Saturday’s Event Three decider, overturning a 4-3 deficit with legs of 13, 13 and 15 darts to break new ground in his career.
Melderis kicked off his campaign with crushing victories over Albin Harrysson and Kent Joran Sivertsen, before recording a trio of 6-3 wins against Edgar Znutins, Anton Ostlund and Jonas Masalin respectively.
The Latvian was only denied back-to-back titles by Finnish veteran Kantele, who reeled off five consecutive legs to close out a 6-2 success in Sunday’s Event Four showpiece.
Having whitewashed Znutins in his opener, Kantele swept aside Andreas Harrysson and accounted for Dmitriy Zhukov and Engstrom to seal his spot in the semi-finals.
The 56-year-old then launched a remarkable comeback from 5-1 down to defeat Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas, surviving almost a dozen match darts to set up his showdown against Melderis.
Engstrom also enjoyed a successful weekend in Gothenburg, winning through two of the three European Tour Qualifiers held across the weekend.
The two-time World Cup participant edged through a hat-trick of deciding-leg tussles in the ET4 Qualifier to book his place in next month’s German Darts Grand Prix in Munich.
Engstrom dispatched his compatriot Niklas Olsson 6-1 in the opening round of qualifying, before overcoming Par Riihonen, Kantele and Zhukov in dramatic last-leg affairs.
The 48-year-old will also feature in May’s European Darts Grand Prix, after defeating five Danish stars and Kantele to progress through the ET6 Qualifier.
Engstrom conceded just three legs in emphatic wins over Niels Heinsoe, Tom Veje, Andreas Hyllgaardhus and Simon Bak, and after battling past Andreas Toft Jorgensen, he swept aside Kantele in their winner-takes-all clash.
Elsewhere, Kantele’s fellow countryman Teemu Harju came out on top in Friday’s ET5 Qualifier, winning five successive legs from 3-1 down to deny Ostlund and qualify for the Austrian Darts Open.
The 32-year-old eased past Zhukov and Peter Jensen in his opening ties, and he backed up a deciding-leg victory over Labanauskas with a 6-4 success against Melderis in the semi-finals.
The 2025 Nordic & Baltic ProTour season continues from May 9-11, as ProTour Events 5-6 and Qualifiers for ET7-9 take place in Vääsky, Finland.
2025 Nordic & Baltic ProTour Event Three
Valters Melderis 6-4 Johan Engstrom
2025 Nordic & Baltic ProTour Event Four
Marko Kantele 6-2 Valters Melderis
German Darts Grand Prix (ET4 Qualifier)
Johan Engstrom 6-5 Dmitriy Zhukov
Austrian Darts Open (ET5 Qualifier)
Teemu Harju 6-3 Anton Ostlund
European Darts Grand Prix (ET6 Qualifier)
Johan Engstrom 6-2 Marko Kantele
Click here for more information on the PDC Nordic & Baltic circuit.