ANALYSIS: Jelle Klaasen threatened with PDC Tour Card axe with five more Dutchmen also in trouble

The Netherlands has 21 players with a PDC Tour Card this year, which is three less than last year. Meanwhile, we are over halfway 2025 and it is time to take stock. In an earlier article we already announced which 15 Dutchmen can sleep on both ears that they will still be active on the Pro Tour next year. Today we highlight the six Dutchmen for whom the situation looks pretty dire and who still have a lot of work to do to secure their PDC Tour Card for next year.

In 69th place we currently find Chris Landman. 'The Countryman', in 2023 still a losing finalist at the WDF World Championship after a defeat against the Belgian Andy Baetens, captured his PDC Tour Card in 2024 and thus needs to be in the top 64 at the end of this year to keep it. Landman certainly did not do badly in his first year and a half on the Pro Tour with some nice wins against reputable players. Landman, who is known for his particularly fast throwing style, has certainly shown that he can handle the level at the PDC, but settling firmly into the top 64 still remains a huge task.

Especially his first year was good, this year he is struggling a bit to win enough matches. We can also see that in the provisional world rankings at the end of this season - which take into account the prize money going away and the starting money being counted for the first round of a major for which the player is qualified - where Landman is only 76th. Moreover, the 44-year-old Dutchman has not yet qualified for any major this fall, including the World Darts Championship. So it is up to Landman to recover and find his form of last year, then nothing is lost yet. Especially World Cup qualification could be decisive for him because that is where the most money can be earned.

Not far behind Landman, in 75th place to be exact, is Berry van Peer. He too captured his PDC Tour Card in 2024 (after having captured it twice before). Like Landman, he is not doing unkindly, but for now it is insufficient to secure his PDC Tour Card for next year.

In fact, Van Peer, who had to deal with dartsitus in the past, is only 88th in the provisional rankings after the World Darts Championship. So even more than Landman, he has work to do to be active on the Pro Tour next year. For now, he too is not seeded for any major this to.

The third Dutchman to be of great concern is Patrick Geeraets. The 46-year-old darter somewhat surprisingly captured his PDC Tour Card early last year, but has struggled to advance toward the top 64 since then. Geeraets is currently 83rd and provisionally only 91st. He too, by the way, like Van Peer and Landman, is not yet seeded for any major this fall.

Two places behind Geeraets we find Jitse van der Wal. He too captured his PDC Tour Card in 2024, but has not been able to make much of an impression on the Pro Tour since then. Van der Wal is only 94th provisionally and, as it looks now, he will not play on any major this fall.

Completely hopeless, as for the gentlemen mentioned above, the situation is really not yet. With one outlier, say once a distant run in a Players Championship, the situation could turn around quickly. But time does play against Van der Wal and the other Dutchmen.

Then we come to the penultimate Dutchman and that is the most famous of this six, namely Jelle Klaasen. The 2006 BDO World Champion recaptured his PDC Tour Card early last year after an absence, plagued in part by injury, of several years.

Klaasen, also a former semifinalist at the PDC World Championship, had a difficult first year since his return to the Pro Tour. This year, however, he got off to an excellent start with a final at the third Players Championship of the year. In it, Klaasen lost 8-4 to Chris Dobey. You would expect him to move on, but on the contrary, after that it became quiet again around Klaasen, who managed to win few matches. 'The Cobra' is currently 87th and provisionally in place 81. Klaasen has repeatedly shown in the past to have the talent to compete in the PDC - even in the top 16 - and has beaten almost all the top players on several occasions. Not forgetting that Klaasen was still part of the Premier League Darts in 2009.

The question, then, is whether he can revive those old glory years again. That will be especially necessary in the coming months to secure his PDC Tour Card. One bright spot: Klaasen is currently seeded for the World Darts Championship, a couple of wins there could be worth their weight in gold if he wants to compete on the Pro Tour next year.

A little further down the world rankings, 89th to be exact, is Martijn Dragt. The 37-year-old Dutchman captured his PDC Tour Card on the first day of Q-School last year, but as things stand, he will lose it again at the end of this year.

Dragt is provisionally only 96th after the World Darts Championship. The same applies to him as to four Dutchmen above: currently not qualified for any major this fall, so he has a lot of work ahead of him to pull off a miracle and keep his PDC Tour Card.

Conclusion: of the 21 Dutch PDC Tour Card holders, fifteen are already certain to be back on the Pro Tour next year. For the six problem cases it currently looks bad if nothing is definitely decided yet.