INTERVIEW - Van der Meer sees PDC Tour Card as a start of a dream: 'We will see where it ends'

The Dutchman, who lives in the same hometown as Raymond van Barneveld, had a terrific last day at the Q-School. Van der Meer reached the final and collected enough points to win a PDC Tour Card through the Order of Merit. ''The start of a dream. It's just going to start now and we will see where it ends'', he told Dartsnews.

''Of course it was difficult, because the field was very strong. When you go to the Q-School, you want to win a Tour Card. Then you can play on the Pro Tour and compete with the best players in the world.''

Van der Meer picked up six points after three days at the Q-School. He needed a very good run on the final day to win a Tour Card. ''In my opinion I had to play better then during my first three days'', the Dutchman said. ''I wanted to give everything on the last day, but didn't expect to reach the final.''

Van der Meer had to wait almost two weeks before the PDC confirmed he had won his Tour Card. He secured a fourth place on the European Q-School Order Merit, which meaned he needed to see less then 750 entries at the UK Q-School. The amount of Tour Cards through the ranking is devided by the amount of entries on each Q-School. However, Van der Meer was told the chance that over 750 people would play in Wigan was very small.

''They told me I claimed a PDC Tour Card. But you never know if there will be over 750 players at the UK Q-School or not. Thankfully that didn't happen as I received one of the Tour Cards.''

The Den Haag based darts player will make his Players Championship debut in the second weekend of February. Van der Meer says he is going to play all Pro Tour events, but admits a sponsor would help him to finance the costs. ''I can play all the tournaments, but I need some more sponsors to be able to afford everything.''

Good results on the Pro Tour can help Van der Meer to earn his costs back. He also needs good performances to reach his big goal. ''The final goal is qualifying for the World Championship of course. That's my aim for this year and I'm giving my best to achieve this.''

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