Alexander Merkx wins 2022 Helvetia Open

Wim Blokpoel - Today the WDF had a second event in Switzerland this weekend: the Helvetia Open!

Men 

In the men event, 3 Dutch players reached the last 32. 16th seed Alexander Merkx had a 4-0 whitewash win over Gareth Syverson! Dutch Italian Sergio Krassen managed to edge out Marcel Hirzel from Switzerland, 4-3. And finally, 10th seed Chris Landman beat Sandro Egli 4-2, making it 3 Dutchmen in the last 16 as well! There, Merkx had a 4-2 win over Markus Burger, but Krassen lost 2-4 to 9th seed Ben Hazel. Landman edged out Thomas Junghans from Switzerland 4-3, making it two Dutch quarter-finalists!

In the last 8, Merkx edged out Ben Hazel 4-3! Landman did lose though, 3-4 to second seed Andy Baetens from Belgium. Into the semi-finals, Merkx took on Scottish Greg Ritchie, who he edged out 4-3 with an average of 85,6. Into the final, Merkx took on second seed Andy Baetens! It was a 5-3 win for Merkx, who averaged 92! That means Merkx won the 2022 Helvetia Open, his second WDF rabking title after the Lithuania Open which he won last month!

Women

In the women event, it was Noa-Lynn van Leuven who was the only Dutch quarter-finalist as first seed Anca Zijstra lost early. Van Leuven did lose in the last 8, 2-4 to 4th seed Britta Gabriel. Dutch/Irish Adriana van Wijgerden-Vermaat did win her last 8 game, 4-2 over Jeannette Stoop from Switzerland. Van Wijgerden’s daughter Eireann also made the last 8, but lost 0-4 to second seed Suzanne Smith. In the semi-finals, Dutch/Irish Van Wijgerden-Vermaat whitewashed Britta Gabriel 4-0! Into the final, Van Wijgerden-Vermaat was edged out 4-5 by Suzanne Smith.