Ryan Searle silences whistlers in Dutch Darts Championship as referee Kirk Bevins intervenes

UNSHAKEABLE Ryan Searle was full of pride after downing Dirk van Duijvenbode with his new five-day old darts.

The Somerset star produced a brilliant display and used partisan support for the home star to aid his focus and earn a 6-5 victory.

Searle withstood the battling efforts of van Duijvenbode and also the boisterous gallery supporting their man to come through a 6-5 epic.

He said: "It was a good game. Obviously, the crowd were trying to play their part, but, to be fair, I absolutely loved it. It made me focus more, try to keep them quiet and a great finish in the end to win it under big pressure.

"I was proud of myself under that pressure, using new darts as well. I've only been using them for five days and I have got a lot more that I can do.

"It's just a whole new dart. Same shape, same weight, just a completely new grip. Just felt like I needed a bit of a change. My problem is getting a bit bored of using the same dart, I need something to get me a bit more focused and get me practising and these are going well. And I can do a lot better than that."

Referee Kirk Bevins asked the crowd not to boo during the contest, but Searle took the crazy atmosphere in his cool stride and added: "I think you just have to take it, basically. This is a big place, there's a lot of people in here and you'd do well to be able to block this out. So it's just one of those where you take it on the chin and try and do your best."

The home crowd in Maastricht had enjoyed success earlier in the day with Wessel Nijman's win over Jeffrey de Graaf and Danny Noppert added another Dutch success when he sank Dave Chisnall.

The Freeze won 6-4 as he continues to hunt a first-ever Euro title and smiled: "How long does it take! There's plenty of time. I'm not in the best form of my life, I have a new set-up and everything. In the future, I always believe, of course, and we will see where it is going. I always like to win. I think I played confident. Really happy. I had some goosebumps in the match and it was so nice to have the crowd behind you."

Image: Jenny Segers/PDC Europe