Ritchie Edhouse stormed to his maiden televised crown with a crushing 11-3 victory over Jermaine Wattimena in Sunday’s Machineseeker European Championship final.
Edhouse fulfilled his darting dreams on an extraordinary day of action in Dortmund, as the two lowest-ranked players in the tournament went head-to-head for the title in a remarkable turn of events.
However, it was Basildon-born Edhouse who clinched the £120,000 top prize, as he reeled off nine consecutive legs to dispatch Wattimena and cap off a famous weekend at the Westfalenhalle.
Edhouse took centre stage in the first and last match of this year’s European Championship, after he kicked off the tournament with a stunning 109.48 average in his 6-1 demolition of Gian van Veen.
He also overturned a 4-1 deficit to stun world number two Michael Smith in Saturday’s second round, before averaging almost 104 to complete a famous 10-5 win over Gary Anderson in the last eight.
The 41-year-old continued his ground-breaking run with an 11-5 victory against Luke Woodhouse in the semi-finals, and he wasn’t to be denied against another surprise finalist in Wattimena.
The Dutchman made a bright start to Sunday’s showpiece, but his doubling unravelled midway through the decider, with Edhouse converting a host of superb combination finishes to triumph.
2024 Machineseeker European Championship
Sunday October 27
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
Luke Woodhouse 10-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ritchie Edhouse 10-5 Gary Anderson
Jermaine Wattimena 10-4 Luke Humphries
Danny Noppert 10-9 Ricardo Pietreczko
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
Ritchie Edhouse 11-5 Luke Woodhouse
Jermaine Wattimena 11-10 Danny Noppert
Final
Ritchie Edhouse 11-3 Jermaine Wattimena
