BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Niels de Ruiter: A very short career, but almost world champion

In this column, we regularly go back in time with a particular darter. Today it is the turn of Dutchman Niels de Ruiter.

Niels de Ruiter was born on January 21, 1983 in Lelystad. He first made his mark in 2005 by winning the WDF World Cup for Teams. That same year he also reached the semi-finals at both the Welsh Open and the Welsh Classic. Partly due to these strong performances he was allowed to play at the BDO World Championship for the first time in early 2006. However, at the legendary Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, he went down 3-2 in his opening match against Englishman Shaun Greatbatch. Later that year, De Ruiter reached the final of the WDF Europe Cup, which he lost to Welshman Mark Webster.

De Ruiter got to go to Lakeside again a year after his first World Championship appearance and he was determined to win at least one match this year. So he did, and he did much better in the end. In the opening round, he easily won 3-0 over English qualifier Brian Woods. In the second round, sixth-seeded Simon Whitlock lost 4-3 after a real thriller and in the quarter-finals he was again too strong for Gary Robson with the smallest difference, this time 5-4.

'The Excellent Dude' additionally started his semifinal against English qualifier Phill Nixon as the favourite. Both players struggled to find their best level and it was ultimately Nixon who prevailed 6-4.

Because of his semifinal place at the BDO World Championship, De Ruiter was also allowed to compete at the Grand Slam of Darts later that year. However, in a group with James Wade, Pat Orreal and Nixon, he was left without a win. At the BDO World Championship early January 2008 he was unable to repeat his run of the year before, already in the first round he failed after a 3-1 defeat against Glenn Moody.

De Ruiter had to deal with eye problems that year and therefore did not get much action. He did take part in the Grand Slam of Darts again, but in a group with Wade, Adrian Lewis and Denis Ovens he managed to win only one leg.

After failing to qualify for the World Championship in 2009, De Ruiter decided to change tack. He started working for the Dutch Darts Association and said the following about it. "When I became a member in 1999, I never expected that our sport would mean so much to me. I became hooked on the game and after a few years I was playing darts every weekend somewhere in the world. Thanks to my interest in and involvement with everything that went on 'behind the scenes,' combined of course with hitting the right boxes less and less (.....), I decided to apply at the end of 2009."

De Ruiter eventually became director at the Dutch Darts Association, a position he held until his retirement at the end of 2018. About this he said the following. "I was able to turn my hobby into a wonderful profession, lead a great team of employees as director and, together with the board, steer and professionalize the NDB as a sports organization. I have enjoyed this from the first moment and will continue to do so until the last day. I have been able to help organize hundreds of events, admire the Dutch team in many countries and contribute to many great plans and new initiatives. The NDB has developed within the world of the World Darts Federation and as a sports association into a stable, critical and progressive organization, has become financially healthier and has actually started to do more with fewer employees."

De Ruiter is still sporadically in action at tournaments these days, as he sometimes participated in the Dutch Open, but he focuses mainly on his professional work and also regularly provides commentary for Viaplay at major international darts tournaments.