The rollercoaster that is Jelle Klaasen's career is going to make sure the Dutchman comes full circle in December. After a journey that began in Frimley Green, with the Lakeside 2006 final victory, Klaasen will make his appearance there again after nearly seventeen years: at the WDF World Championship. The memories of Klaasen vs Van Barneveld 2006 are in everyone's mind.
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For this edition of Darts Throwback we return to Klaasen's first footsteps on television. The final against Van Barneveld was the big event, but in the last sixteen, the then 21-year-old Klaasen turned the darts world upside down. Mervyn King, the highest ranked player, was defeated 4-2.
Playing against 'The King" is no small thing. In the interview before the match, the inexperienced Jelle tried to nuance the situation: "On stage you don't think about it, you just play a match." A day earlier, he had already eliminated Dennis Harbour after falling behind 0-2 in sets. As a result, Klaasen knew: "If I throw freely, I can achieve great things."
King impresses
On stage, King, who was allowed to start the match, immediately made an impression. The first set went 3-0 to the Englishman, including a 14-darter. Klaasen had trouble keeping up with King's pace, although he did throw a few 180s in the first set.
In the second set Klaasen struggled to get his first leg: after seven attempts in the first leg of the second set he could cheer. The legs in the set went with the darts, but King impressed with 13 and 14-darters in his leg. In the important fifth leg of the set, which Klaasen had the darts, he picked up steam. In 14 darts Klaasen took the second set: 1-1 with a 47 checkout.
First blow
In the third set, the first real blow was dealt. After King and Klaasen bravely held their own legs in 16 darts, Klaasen broke King with a 15-darter. A 180 and 140 in a row put The King at bay. The next leg there was the 1-2 lead in sets. Klaasen held his own leg in 17 darts.
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In the fourth set, King seemed determined to fight his way back into the match. He opened furiously with a 14-darter, but saw Klaasen break him right back with another 14-darter. Klaasen's trick was to cash in on that rebreak with a 120 finish in 12 darts. Although King answered that again in 14 darts, Klaasen finished it off in the fifth leg.
High tempo affair
Klaasen was 3-1 ahead in a match of real pace. The BBC showed a graphic as proof of that: King throws away his darts in 5.2 seconds - Klaasen in 4.1 seconds. Fine for the viewer, because he sees an attractive duel.
King knew that Klaasen needed only one more set, but in the first leg of the fifth set Klaasen broke him immediately. In "only" 18 darts. King seemed to be going for the axe, but the next leg he turned the room upside down with a 161 finish in 12 darts. It meant a break, and King went on to win the fifth set in 17 and 13 darts: it was now only 2-3 for Klaasen.
King had the momentum going. In the sixth set, which could level him, he broke Klaasen immediately. Yet Klaasen responded strongly again with a 15-darter rebreak. In a 13-darter he then put himself in the seat for the win. King kept his own leg with a 104-finish, but in the fifth leg of the seventh set Klaasen finished it off on tops.
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Klaasen title candidate?
Klaasen had the shock of the tournament so far. He himself would say to the BBC afterward, "I wasn't expecting anything at all, I just wanted to play the best possible darts and I did." The BBC immediately saw title potential in him. "Maybe, I don't know. I have no expectations, but I'm going for it."
Kingwas realistic afterwards: "I threw too many singles, not enough trebles. That cost me the match." He showed himself a classy loser praise for Klaasen. "He has the momentum to win. As long as he doesn't feel nervous. If he keeps himself calm, he can win the tournament."
And we all know what happened.
De laatste leg, interviews en analyse van Bobby George<br>
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026