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The five Dutch started well on Saturday at the Grand Slam of darts. Raymond van Barneveld, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Danny Noppert, Jermaine Wattimena and Michael van Gerwen won their first group game in Wolverhampton, England.
Van Barneveld started the game badly against Dave Chisnall and soon faced a 2-0 deficit. The Dutchman didn’t let himself be fooled and fought back at 3-3.
Van Barneveld, who won the tournament in 2012, started the seventh inning. He threw 180 twice and beat the Englishman. The first leg was also prey for ‘Barney’ (3-5).
Van Duijvenbode struggled against Martin Schindler. The world number sixteen broke the German early in the game, but gave up his own leg moments later. In the very last round, Van Duijvenbode still won the victory: 5-4.
Noppert got the same score against Christian Perez of the Philippines. Number eight on the seeded list continually had the lead in the game, but was surprisingly beaten in game eight. In the final step, Noppert repaired the damage.
Jermaine Wattimena had few issues with Damon Heta. The Dutchman won 2-5 against the New Zealand dart. Michael van Gerwen closed the day with a convincing victory over Nathan Rafferty (5-2). The three-time winner has beaten his Northern Irish competitor twice.
The Grand Slam of Darts will take place in Wolverhampton from November 12-20. The group stage ends within the first three days, after which the top two players in the group qualify for the knockout stage.
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