Co Stompé once got suspension for smoking joint: ''That didn't make sense''

Co Stompé has now been off the PDC circuit for almost a decade. In a extensive interview with the Algemeen Dagblad, 'The Matchstick' looked back on his impressive career.

First, a special subject passed the review. In the year 2000, Stompé tested positive at a doping control. The Dutch dart player had smoked a joint and received a three-month suspension for doing so. That verdict, nearly a quarter century after the fact, still causes Stompé's incomprehension. ''That made no sense at all,'' he states. Stompé took that joint just before the Belgium Open, the tournament he went on to win. ''But do you really think it was because of that joint? Are you crazy? You could almost say: it's harder'', Stompé laughs.

On the floor, Stompé won the necessary tournaments, but on the stage it was often a different story. ''In the throw-in room I hit everything, I threw the elastic out of my underpants. But once I was on stage at such a tournament, it was usually far below par."

According to Stompé, expectations were the cause. ''Earlier it was: as long as my shirt is nicely ironed and my shoes are shiny. I was really very relaxed about it. But that changed. Because others put a certain pressure on me. And so did I. I know you have to let that slide, but that's easier said than done.''

Sporadically, he did manage to blaze at a television tournament. At the 2002 BDO World Championship at Lakeside, Stompé made it to the semifinals. ''Yes, that tournament did turn my life upside down for a while. That was the kickstart to my career." It earned him £10,000 at the time. Nowadays, the top players at the PDC get as much as 100,000 pounds for reaching the semifinals at the World Darts Championship. Whether "The Matchstick" is therefore jealous of today's top players?

''Absolutely not. That's why I never thought: if only I had been born later. Boy, I've had a great career. Won the World Cup with Raymond van Barneveld, won the world title with the Dutch team. Was European champion several times, Dutch champion four times, plus twelve more international titles. No, it's fine."

Van Barneveld was going to retire from darts after the 2019 season, but reversed this decision a year later. In 2021, Van Barneveld returned to the PDC circuit via the Q-School. Stompé himself never considered a comeback.

''Doesn't make sense either. In your head you think: I'm that young dog of 25, but that's not the case. Coincidentally, I was talking about that yesterday with Henk Timmer, that former goalkeeper. You can put him in a goal again, but he will never have the same suppleness and the same responsiveness as before. Therefore, also because I don't have the drive anymore, I will never reach the top level. Am filler at best. That's where I fit in. That was also the reason I stopped. At one point I hadn't won a race seven weekends in a row. Then I thought: now I'm done with it'', said Stompé.