Danny van Trijp got his Tour Card with the PDC last year. The 27-year-old Dutchman was a guest on the darts podcast Dartpraat, where he talked about his first year as a Tour Card holder, among other things.
Van Trijp explains to Dartpraat what darts means to him. ''It started 8 years ago with just throwing darts. Then it became more and more serious and now I have a Tour Card,'' he explains. In addition, Van Trijp still throws a lot of local tournaments. ''I see the competition mainly as fun. The Oranjebar and the Super League are then more serious tournaments with still sociability, but on the Pro Tour you have to be completely serious.''
Van Trijp had a good season in 2022 with two titles on the Challenge Tour and qualification for the World Championship, but did not continue this form in his first year as Tour Card holder. ''It was a bit disappointing, I did expect more. I even had a series that I lost 11 times in a row in the first round.''
At the 20th Players Championship tournament of 2023, however, Van Trijp managed to reach the semifinals. Then I thought I got back into the winning flow and won the next two tournaments. However, after that I also had a series of six losses in the first round. Van Trijp explains that you have to be mentally strong to play on the Pro Tour. I was looking forward to every tournament, but you have to remember that you really want to win the first round. If you win the first round it's kind of a relief, that's why I find playing a first round much more difficult than playing a second or third round.''
Van Trijp is currently ranked #88 in the world rankings and needs to be in the top 64 at the end of the season to keep his Tour Card. ''I'm definitely going to keep doing my best, but you have to stay realistic. It's going to be tough, but I'm still going for it.'' Van Trijp also indicated to Dartpraat what his goals are for the coming year. ''To make the World Championship again and qualify for the Players Championship Finals.''
