Dirk van Duijvenbode comes up short at World Darts Championship: ''Did everything I could to be fine''

A super start seemed to give Dirk van Duijvenbode hope for a good finish in his first match at the World Darts Championship, but in the end 'Aubergenius' was dispatched by Boris Krcmar 3-1 in sets.

The Dutchman has been struggling with a major shoulder injury for some time, which affected his level during the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals in November. With an average of almost 95, Van Duijvenbode was already playing much better, but it was still not enough for a win.

''The first set I played pretty strong, but in the second set I lost focus for a while, which has nothing to do with my injury,'' was Van Duijvenbode's initial reaction to Viaplay. ''I maybe should have thrown in a little more darts on stage prior to that set. For my feeling I wasn't throwing badly, but I was running into someone who was throwing better than he normally does against me. Set three I start weak again, in the third leg I lose the match there. Because in the last set the moment was no longer there to do anything.''

A key moment in the match was the first leg of the third set, in which Van Duijvenbode was harassed by a wasp on stage. ''That was a crucial moment, though, because after that I throw a bad score and lose that leg. I like food, but I didn't have to eat that one,'' Van Duijvenbode said of the wasp that harassed him.

In the end, the statistics Van Duijvenbode can present after the match are certainly not bad, with an average of 94.57 and a finishing percentage of 40 percent. ''If you see where I'm coming from, it's very good, but just not good enough. You get a little emotional, been here two months to win a match actually, because I realized very quickly that it became quite difficult to win matches at TV tournaments," Van Duijvenbode said.

''I did everything I could to play fine. But I also played less well and won here at times. At the crucial moments I couldn't bring it. Too bad," the former World Championship quarterfinalist concluded.