The Finder Darts Masters was a darts tournament held in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, sanctioned by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation, running intermittently under several different names from 1995 to 2018.

The tournament was previously known as the Zuiderduin Masters from 2007 to 2014, as the Leendesk Masters in 2005, as the Doeland Grand Masters from 2001 to 2004, as the European Grand Masters in 2000, and as the Dutch Grand Masters in 1995 and 1996. It was held in December and was traditionally the last BDO event held before the annual World Championship. The tournament was an unranked event until 2008, when it was installed as a ranking event, along with the World Championships and the World Masters, following the cancellation of the World Darts Trophy and the International Darts League.

The organizers of the event announced in 2019 that that year's event would not take place due to the termination of the sponsorship with Dutch e-commerce company Finder, and the tournament has been discontinued.

History

1995–1996: Dutch Grand Masters The competition began in 1995, known as the Dutch Grand Masters with Raymond van Barneveld and Francis Hoenselaar winning their first major tournament. The tournament ceased between 1997 and 1999.

2000: European Grand Masters Following a growth in the popularity in darts in the Netherlands because of the great success of players such as Raymond van Barneveld the event returned in 2000. It returned as the "European Grand Masters" in 2000.

2001–2004: Doeland Grand Masters The tournament became the "Doeland Grand Masters" from 2001 to 2004.

2005: Leendesk Masters In 2005 the tournament was named the "Leendesk Masters".

2007–2014: Zuiderduin Masters The 2006 Masters was postponed, and was to be held in March 2007, reverting to its original title "Dutch Grand Masters".

The event was later cancelled, due to lack of sponsorship, but was revived later that year when the tournament venue, the Hotel Zuidenduin, stepped in to sponsor the tournament signing a five-year contract until 2012, and it was branded the Zuiderduin Masters. Following sponsorship from the Hotel Zuiderduin, a women's competition was added in 2008 and after a demonstration tournament for juniors in 2010, a juniors competition was added in 2011. A new three-year contract was agreed in 2011 for it to remain the Zuiderduin Masters up to 2014.

The first nine-dart finish at the tournament was recorded by Darryl Fitton in 2009.

2015–2018: Finder Darts Masters Finder, an international operating company, took over the naming rights to the tournament from the 2015 edition onwards. It was branded the Finder Darts Masters.

Format

Men The field is made up of 24 players. Qualification is determined from the top 16 players from the Zuiderduin Masters ranking table, which is separate from the BDO/WDF World Rankings, as well four players from the International Darts Tour of the Lowlands (IDTL) before its collapse in 2010/2011, and the winner of the Netherlands Champions League of Darts, plus 3 wild cards. If an IDTL qualifier is already qualified through his ranking, an extra wild card becomes available.

From 2011, the men's winner at the MariFlex Open, a Zuiderduin Masters ranking event, gained automatic entry in to that years Zuiderduin Masters tournament. It was replaced with the Hal Open in 2014, but retained the same stipulations the MariFlex Open had. Since the 2013 Zuiderduin Masters tournament, the men's champion from the previous year was invited back to the following year's tournament.

The 24 players are split into 8 groups, with each player playing 2 matches, best of 9 legs. The top player from each group advance to the quarter-finals, which is played in set format through to the final.

Women Following the tournament's inception as a ranking event in 2008, a women's competition was installed with an eight-player field, made up from the top five players in the Zuiderduin Masters rankings, an IDTL qualifier before its collapse, the NDB Champions League of Darts winner and a wildcard. Likewise with the men's event, an extra wildcard can also be awarded. The competition was played in a straight knockout format.

The women's competition was played in a straight knockout format up to and including the 2010 tournament before a new format was introduced in 2011. The field was shortened to six players. Two groups consist of three players playing one another once, with both group winners advancing to the final. The group stage matches are played over a legs format before the final in played in a sets format.

From 2011, the six-player field has been made up from the top two players in the Zuiderduin Masters rankings, the NDB Champions League of Darts winner, two wildcards and the MariFlex Open winner. From 2011, the women's winner at the MariFlex Open, a Zuiderduin Masters ranking event, gained automatic entry into that years Zuiderduin Masters tournament. It was replaced with the Hal Open in 2014, but retained the same stipulations the MariFlex Open had. Since the 2013 Zuiderduin Masters tournament, the women's champion from the previous year has been invited back to the following year's tournament.

Youth The youth tournament was instigated in 2011 with the first winner being Jimmy Hendriks who in the same year also won the WDF World Youth Cup and World Youth Masters.

Venue The tournament has been held at the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee since 2001. The 2000 tournament was held in Hardenberg. In 2007, following the postponement of the 2006 event, plans were made to host the 2007 Dutch Grand Masters in Rosmalen, but after it was cancelled, the plans were aborted and it remained in Egmond.

List of tournaments

Men's Year Champion Score Runner-Up Prize Money Venue Total 1995 Raymond van Barneveldn/a 4 – 3 Richie Burnettn/a n/a n/a n/a 1996 Martin Adamsn/a 4 – 2 Mervyn Kingn/a n/a n/a n/a 2000 Martin Adams (2)97.05 5 – 4 Steve Beaton92.70 €25,500 €5,000 €2,500 Evenementenhal, Hardenberg 2001 Raymond van Barneveld (2)n/a 5 – 1 Andy Fordhamn/a €25,500 €5,000 €2,500 Hotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee 2002 Tony David96.03 6 – 4 Mervyn King95.07 €25,500 €5,000 €2,500 2003 Raymond van Barneveld (3)94.23 6 – 1 Mervyn King88.05 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2004 Raymond van Barneveld (4)94.17 5 – 1 Ted Hankey81.21 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2005 Mervyn King99.30 5 – 4 Martin Adams99.48 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2007 Gary Anderson100.32 5 – 4 Mark Webster96.45 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2008 Gary Anderson (2)99.21 5 – 4 Scott Waites93.75 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2009 Darryl Fitton93.94 5 – 2 Martin Adams97.00 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2010 Ross Montgomery94.17 5 – 4 Robbie Green93.81 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2011 Scott Waites99.62 5 – 4 Darryl Fitton97.91 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2012 Stephen Bunting97.62 5 – 0 Alan Norris92.67 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2013 James Wilson91.10 5 – 1 Stephen Bunting88.45 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2014 Jamie Hughes 96.12 5 – 0 Gary Robson86.22 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2015 Glen Durrant100.83 5 – 2 Martin Adams97.35 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2016 Glen Durrant (2)97.33 5 – 3 Jamie Hughes89.53 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2017 Danny Noppert95.03 5 – 3 Jim Williams86.97 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500 2018 Glen Durrant (3)100.60 5 – 3 Richard Veenstra92.11 €33,500 €5,000 €2,500

Women's Year Champion Score Runner-Up Prize Money Venue Total 1995 Francis Hoenselaarn/a 3 – 2 Mandy Solomonsn/a n/a n/a n/a 1996 Deta Hedmann/a 3 – 1 Francis Hoenselaarn/a n/a n/a n/a 2008 Lisa Ashton78.42 2 – 0 Trina Gulliver65.91 €6,100 €1,750 €1,250 Hotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee 2009 Julie Gore86.07 2 – 0 Tricia Wright81.75 €6,100 €1,750 €1,250 2010 Trina Gulliver78.60 2 – 1 Francis Hoenselaar71.79 €6,100 €1,750 €1,250 2011 Deta Hedman (2)81.99 2 – 0 Aileen de Graaf68.25 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2012 Anastasia Dobromyslova74.34 2 – 1 Aileen de Graaf84.69 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2013 Aileen de Graaf74.34 2 – 0 Anastasia Dobromyslova73.74 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2014 Anastasia Dobromyslova (2)78.09 2 – 1 Aileen de Graaf71.88 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2015 Fallon Sherrock88.41 2 – 0 Anastasia Dobromyslova73.95 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2016 Anastasia Dobromyslova (3)77.60 2 – 1 Aileen de Graaf70.71 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2017 Aileen de Graaf (2)75.78 2 – 0 Deta Hedman66.31 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250 2018 Lisa Ashton (2)88.68 2 – 1 Fallon Sherrock84.58 €5,300 €1,750 €1,250

Youth's Year Champion Score Runner-up Venue 2011 Jimmy Hendriksn/a 2 – 1 Mike Zuydwijkn/a Hotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee 2012 Quin Western/a 2 – 0 Kenny Neyensn/a 2013 Colin Roelofsn/a 2 – 0 Berry van Peern/a 2014 Callan Rydzn/a 2 – 0 Mike van Duivenboden/a 2015 Justin van Tergouwn/a 2 – 0 Maikel Verberkn/a 2016 Justin van Tergouw (2)n/a 2 – 0 Owen Maidenn/a 2017 Jarred Cole86.16 2 – 0 Nathan Girvan77.50 2018 Keane Barry80.52 2 – 0 Levy Frauenfelder75.47

Finalists

Player Raymond van Barneveld40 Glen Durrant30 Martin Adams23 Gary Anderson20 Mervyn King13 Stephen Bunting11 Darryl Fitton11 Jamie Hughes11 Scott Waites11 Tony David10 Ross Montgomery10 Danny Noppert10 James Wilson10 Steve Beaton01 Andy Fordham01 Robbie Green01 Ted Hankey01 Alan Norris01 Gary Robson01 Richard Veenstra01 Mark Webster01 Jim Williams01 Richie Burnett01

References

External links Official website Men's tournament history Darts Database. Women's tournament history Darts Database. Men's tournament history Master Caller. Women's tournament history Master Caller.