Berry van Peer looks back on World Championship debut: ''My doubles went just fantastic''

Berry van Peer finished last year at the top of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit and thus qualified for the World Darts Championship in London. On the Double Top Podcast, the 27-year-old Dutchman looked back on his successful debut at the Alexandra Palace.

Prior to the 2024 World Darts Championship, Van Peer already had the most successful season of his career in 2023. At the beginning of 2023, Van Peer just failed to grab a Tour Card at Q-School, but was able to participate in other tournaments as a result, including the Dutch Open. Despite missing out on a Tour Card, Van Peer went to the Dutch Open with a lot of confidence. ''I threw well right from the start, after the second match I had the confidence that I was going to win the tournament.'' Van Peer then made it to the final, which he won 3-1 in sets over Belgian Andy Baetens.

After his final victory at the Dutch Open, Van Peer went on to play tournaments on the PDC Challenge Tour. In one of the weekends Van Peer took no less than three titles. These results put Van Peer at the top of the Challenge Tour rankings, qualifying him for the World Darts Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts. However, due to a new rule, he had to choose whether he would participate in the WDF World Championship or the PDC World Darts Championship. "That was an easy choice. I already had my Tour Card, so I wanted to get some experience at the Ally Pally."

In his first match at the Alexandra Palace, Van Peer faced Luke Woodhouse. He managed to win this match 3-2 in sets. ''To play such a match on your debut is very good. My doubles were just fantastic. Woodhouse was just outside the top 32, so I couldn't have had a tougher draw in the first round."

In his second match, Van Peer had to face the then number 23 in the world, Josh Rock. This match ended 3-1 in sets in Van Peer's favour. ''Against Woodhouse I was better over the whole match, but in the second match I managed to win against a bigger name. The first match was my debut, but the second match had more magnitude.''