Dirk van Duijvenbode won a darts crime thriller against European champion Ross Smith at the World Championships in London and thus earned himself a round of 16 against his Dutch compatriot Michael van Gerwen.

The "Aubergine King", as van Duijvenbode is called in reference to his job on an aubergine farm, survived several match darts and ultimately won 4:3. In the seventh and final set, the eleventh leg had to be decisive. The round of 16 of the two Dutchmen will take place on Friday evening (9.30 p.m. / Sport1 and DAZN).

Already in the second round the 30-year-old van Duijvenbode had a lot of trouble defeating the Czech Karel Sedlacek. The Englishman Smith surprisingly triumphed at the European Championships in Dortmund at the end of October. On Thursday he got a lot more shots of 180 points, but that wasn't enough. Van Duijvenbode stayed behind for a long time and had better nerves in the final moment.