Dutch duo Danny van Trijp and Gian van Veen shared victories on the Winmau Challenge Tour on Friday, as a big weekend of action began in Hildesheim.
Van Trijp defeated former Lakeside Champion Jelle Klaasen 5-2 to claim the Event 11 title, following up his Event Nine success by landing his second Challenge Tour crown of the campaign.
The Dutchman defeated three former Tour Card holders to scoop the £2,000 winner’s prize, following up a deciding-leg win over Portugal’s Paulo Ferreira by easing past Irish youngster Ciaran Teehan.
Van Trijp then overcame his compatriots Roy van de Griendt and Patrick van den Boogaard to seal his semi-final spot, where he recovered from 2-0 down to deny Czech star Karel Sedlacek in a last-leg shoot-out.
This set up a showdown against former Premier League star Klaasen, who relinquished just seven legs across his opening five matches, before surviving match darts to topple Graham Usher in a dramatic semi-final.
Van Trijp stormed into a 3-0 lead in the all-Dutch final, and although Klaasen responded with back-to-back 15-darters, the 25-year-old wrapped up proceedings with an impressive 96 average.
However, it was Van Veen who claimed the bragging rights in Event 12, denying former UK Open semi-finalist David Pallett in a last-leg decider to seal his first Challenge Tour title.
Van Veen eased past Callum Francis and Roberto Vandaele to reach the last 32, where he averaged 101.55 to record a whitewash win over Stephan Griese.
The 20-year-old then booked his semi-final place with wins over Francois Schweyen and Teehan, before sweeping aside his fellow countryman Davy Proosten with another ton-plus average in the last four.
Pallett fired in a superb 105.49 average in a 5-4 victory over Robbie Knops, while also accounting for Kenny Neyens, Jeremy van der Winkel and Chas Barstow to reach Friday’s Event 12 finale.
Van Veen stole an early march with an 11-darter in leg two, and though Pallett rallied to restore parity, the advantage of throw proved decisive for the Dutchman, who converted a stunning 130 finish in the decider to triumph with a 98 average.
Darren Penhall produced the performance of the day, averaging 113.31 in a 5-1 demolition of Diogo Portela in Event 12, with Barstow averaging over 107 in his quarter-final whitewash of Germany's Daniel Klose.
Scott Williams remains top of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit despite suffering successive early exits on Friday, although Van Trijp has cut the gap to just £1,400, while Van Veen's maiden success has catapulted him into the top eight.
The Winmau Challenge Tour continues with another double-header at Halle 39 on Saturday, before the weekend concludes with Event 15 on Sunday in Hildesheim.
The top two players from the final 2022 Challenge Tour Order of Merit will secure a PDC Tour Card for 2023/24 and a place in the 2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship.
Click here to view draws and results.
Match stats from all events can be found through DartConnect.
PDC Winmau Challenge Tour
Halle 39, Hildesheim
Friday July 15
Event 11
Quarter-Finals
Graham Usher 5-1 Roemer Mooijman
Jelle Klaasen 5-3 Darryl Pilgrim
Karel Sedlacek 5-2 Chris Landman
Danny van Trijp 5-4 Patrick van den Boogaard
Semi-Finals
Jelle Klaasen 5-4 Graham Usher
Danny van Trijp 5-4 Karel Sedlacek
Final
Danny van Trijp 5-2 Jelle Klaasen
Event 12
Quarter-Finals
David Pallett 5-2 Jeremy van der Winkel
Chas Barstow 5-0 Daniel Klose
Gian van Veen 5-2 Ciaran Teehan
Davy Proosten 5-1 Steven Beasley
Semi-Finals
David Pallett 5-4 Chas Barstow
Gian van Veen 5-0 Davy Proosten
Final
Gian van Veen 5-4 David Pallett