Richard Veenstra is eliminated from the World Darts Championship after one round. The Dutchman seemed to have difficulty with the slow pace of his opponent Alexis Toylo and was surprisingly beaten 3-0 by the Filipino.
Toylo started the first set of the match surprisingly well. The Filipino shot to a 2-0 lead with a 14-darter and a 15-darter. However, Veenstra was not misled by this and managed to force a decisive fifth leg via a 70 finish and a 67 finish.
However, this revival of ‘Flyers’ came too late, because in the end it was Toylo who threw two 180s in the last leg and therefore secured the first set with a 13-darter.
At the beginning of the second set, Veenstra started to find his rhythm a bit more. The Dutchman won the first leg with a 16-darter on double 17. Toylo continued to dominate the score and leveled the score with a 19-darter.
The Filipino then threw a spectacular 146 finish and also made it 2-1, leaving Veenstra with his back against the wall. Toylo couldn’t find a triple after this finish, putting the Flyers back at 2-2. In the deciding leg, the Dutchman missed two arrows on tops, allowing the Asian to take a 2-0 lead in sets via double 10.
Toylo then also took the first leg of the third set. However, Veenstra still seemed to believe in it and came back to 1-1 with an excellent 12-darter. The Filipino then held his own leg in 15 darts to reach match point. The Dutchman managed to equalize, but it was Toylo who decided the match via double 16.
Alexis Toylo can now enjoy a free Sunday and will face the Pole Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round.