Dirk van Duijvenbode dies despite victory over world champion Michael Smith in the quarterfinals | Darts

Van Duijvenbode achieved a fine average against Humphries with 100.91, but eventually went down. Humphries, the number five in the world, was more convincing on his doubles and took control of the game. The 28-year-old Englishman fought back from a 1-3 deficit.

Earlier in the day, Van Duijvenbode sent world champion Michael Smith home during the tournament in Kiel, Germany. The Dutchman reached thanks to a 6-3 win Bully Boy the quarterfinals of this year’s first EuroTour tournament.

With an average of 100.27 and another deluge of 180’ers (seven pieces, compared to only two by Michael Smith), the Dutchman was very strong against the reigning world champion. Already in the second leg knew Aubergenius Smith to break. Bully Boy Van Duijvenbode managed to break back, but in the sixth leg the Dutchman repeated the trick again. He thus took a 4-2 lead and he did not let the world champion close that gap. It ended 6-3 in Kiel.

Van Duijvenbode was one of the two Dutchmen in Kiel after the elimination of Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert, among others, yesterday. Martijn Dragt surprised friend and foe yesterday by sending Rob Cross home. Today, however, he did not get past Ryan Searle in the round of 16. The Englishman won 6-2.

The European Tour will consist of thirteen tournaments in 2023. The Baltic Sea Darts Open in Kiel is the first tournament this weekend. The European Tour will also visit the Netherlands. The Dutch Darts Championship is scheduled in Leeuwarden from 28 to 30 April.