Niels Zonneveld claimed the biggest victory of his darts career on Sunday evening, defeating Danny Noppert 8-5 in the Dutch Darts Championship final in Maastricht to secure his first PDC ranking title. The 28-year-old Dutchman was visibly overwhelmed after the match, saying: “It’s still a dream, I can’t believe it!” in front of around 5,000 spectators at the MECC.
The left-hander also made history as the first Dutchman to win the Dutch Darts Championship, a tournament staged for the sixth time this year. Zonneveld earned £35,000 for his triumph and climbed to 28th in the world rankings. Before the tournament, he was the highest-ranked player in the world who had yet to win a PDC ranking title — a statistic that changed on Sunday evening.
The final against Noppert was not without its challenges. Zonneveld fell 2-0 behind but turned the match around completely by winning five consecutive legs. Noppert then fought his way back into the match. An 89 checkout on the bullseye cut the deficit, and a few errors from Zonneveld allowed his lead to shrink to 5-4. At that point, Zonneveld produced a brilliant 157 checkout. It restored his two-leg lead and put him back in control of the match. “The 157 was a really important shot, because I was getting nervous! It was my first final, so I can’t blame myself,” the Dutchman admitted.
Zonneveld moved 7-4 ahead and had his first match dart, but could not take it. Noppert punished the miss to make it 7-5. Zonneveld sealed the match in the following leg. Although Zonneveld ultimately claimed the title, he was critical of the standard of the final. Both players had already played a long day of darts. “I think the final was not that good, but we had a long day behind us,” the newly crowned champion said. He also had kind words for his compatriot. “All respect to Danny - I think he will win many more.”
With his first ranking title, Zonneveld has also secured his debut at the Grand Slam of Darts, which takes place in Wolverhampton in November. For now, though, the Dutchman wanted to savour his remarkable achievement in Maastricht. “I have to enjoy this moment, I know that. It’s just a dream come true,” Zonneveld concluded.
