Gian van Veen enjoyed a European Championship debut to remember – by smashing a long-standing Phil Taylor record.
Van Veen produced the performance of the first round in Dortmund, dispatching sixth seed Damon Heta. The Dutchman was imperious throughout, recording the highest average, 107.34, by a European Championship debutant to complete a 6-1 demolition of the Australian number one.
The previous benchmark was set by none other than the GOAT of darts, Taylor, who averaged 105.98 on his debut at the tournament when it was first staged in 2008. The 21-year-old has been branded the ‘next Michael van Gerwen’ by some but isn’t getting ahead of himself.
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Speaking ahead of the tournament, he said: “Of course it is nice to be called the new Van Gerwen, but there is only one Michael. I'm not going to put unnecessary pressure on myself.
“The most important thing is that I have both feet on the ground and stay with myself. I'm enjoying it now that things are going so well, but I also have a little voice in my head that says you never know how long it will stay like this.”
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Van Veen missed out on a place at the recent World Grand Prix after losing to Heta in a qualifier. After he got his own back on the Aussie, the youngster said: “To beat him 6-1 in that game was phenomenal.
“I’m still gutted about that [missing out on the World Grand Prix], but it’s good to get some revenge on him. He’s a quality player who played well in that game, but I just took every chance that I got.”
Van Veen’s reward is a second round meeting with Daryl Gurney, who pinned six of his eight attempts at double to overcome Josh Rock 6-2 in an all-Northern Irish affair. Elsewhere on Friday night, Van Gerwen survived a major scare to deny an inspired Madars Razma.
Four-time European champion Van Gerwen led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 before Razma turned the contest on its head, only for the Green Machine to survive a match dart in each of the last two legs to avoid a shock early exit.
“I had to produce something special because Madars was absolutely phenomenal,” conceded Van Gerwen. “You have to give Madars credit. I don’t think anybody expected him to play this well, but I kept my nerve and that’s the most important thing."
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