Ritchie Edhouse had the best night of his career by winning his first-ever televised title at the 2024 Machineseeker European Championship. It was a night full of dreams for Edhouse, who beat Jermaine Wattimena with an impressive 11-3 score in Sunday’s final. This win not only brought him his first big trophy but also an amazing £120,000 prize, a huge achievement for the 41-year-old player from Basildon, England.
Both Edhouse and Wattimena entered this tournament as underdogs, being the two lowest-ranked players in the lineup. But in a surprising twist, they both made it to the championship match in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle arena, a special moment that nobody saw coming. Edhouse’s performance was especially strong, as he won nine legs in a row to completely shut down Wattimena’s chances. This victory capped off an amazing weekend where Edhouse had been the main highlight.
Edhouse’s journey in the tournament was spectacular from the very start. He opened the competition by crushing Gian van Veen 6-1 with a super high average of 109.48, which is one of the best averages we’ve seen. He also managed an incredible comeback in the second round on Saturday, when he was losing 4-1 against Michael Smith, the world number two. Edhouse turned things around and won 10-5, proving he had what it takes to beat even the best. Then, in the quarterfinals, he played another great game, beating two-time world champion Gary Anderson with an average close to 104.
In the semi-finals, Edhouse faced Luke Woodhouse, who had been a surprise in his own right by reaching his first-ever televised semi-final. Edhouse won that match 11-5 and then had to go up against Wattimena, who had surprised many fans with his incredible performance throughout the weekend.
Wattimena had started the final match strongly and even led 3-2 at the first break. But from that point on, things went downhill for him as Edhouse took control and didn’t look back. Wattimena struggled with his finishing, and Edhouse punished every missed opportunity with a series of perfect checkouts.
One of Edhouse’s best moments in the final was when he landed a 106 checkout to go ahead 5-3. Later, he hit a 144 checkout to bring him closer to the win and finished off the match with a neat 92 finish by hitting double 18s. This victory pushes Edhouse into the top 32 players in the world rankings for the first time in his career, moving him up ten spots to number 29 on the PDC Order of Merit. This also means he’ll be joining the Mr. Vegas Grand Slam of Darts in November.
Wattimena, meanwhile, had a great tournament too, despite the loss in the final. He walked away with £60,000 as the runner-up, and like Edhouse, he secured his spot at the Grand Slam of Darts. The 36-year-old Dutchman began his campaign by defeating reigning champion Peter Wright with a whitewash, 6-0, on Friday.
He then beat 2018 champion James Wade in a thrilling last-leg decider in round two. Wattimena’s best moment probably came in the quarter-finals when he took down world number one Luke Humphries with a 10-4 win and an average over 100. This win set up a semi-final match against fellow Dutch player Danny Noppert, which Wattimena won in a nail-biting final leg.
For Edhouse, this win is the start of what he hopes will be a new chapter in his career. “This is unbelievable,” Edhouse said after the match. “I just wanted to get a couple of wins and see what happened, so this is a dream come true. I think this could be a stepping stone for me because confidence breeds confidence, and now I am confident and hungry for more!”
Even though Wattimena was disappointed with the loss, he was gracious in defeat, congratulating his friend Edhouse on the win. “I’m really happy to reach the final,” Wattimena shared. “I lost to the better player in Ritchie. On the stage, we’re enemies, but we’re good friends after the match. This is a huge moment in my career, but there will be more. I’m proud of what I have done this weekend.”
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It was a surprising and exciting tournament, with unexpected results in each round. The final day saw many top players knocked out, like world number one Humphries, two-time world champ Anderson, and German fan favorite Ricardo Pietreczko. But in the end, it was Edhouse who stole the show, making this year’s European Championship a truly unforgettable event.
