Forgotten Darters: Van der Rassel causes shocks at PDC World Darts Championship

In this column we regularly reminisce about Forgotten Darters from the past. Today it's the turn of the Dutchman Jan van der Rassel, a five-time participant in the PDC World Championship.

Van der Rassel started his career in the BDO. He first hit the big stage in 2002 when he surprisingly beat Steve Beaton at the World Darts Trophy in the preliminary round, only to lose to Andy Fordham in the first round. In 2003 he made the last sixteen at the Winmau World Masters but shortly after he switched to the PDC.

'Rassel Dazzle' made his debut at the PDC World Championship in 2004, he was immediately beaten in the opening round against Ritchie Buckle. Two years later, he returned to the World Championship and claimed a big shock win in the first round by sending 17th seed Steve Beaton home. In the second round, things went dramatically wrong after he missed no less than eight match darts against American John Kuczynski to eventually go down 4-3.

2008 turned out to be his best World Championship. After a shock win in the opening round against Colin Lloyd, Denis Ovens also fell following that. In the end, Peter Manley stopped him at the last sixteen. The Dutchman was also present at the World Championship in 2009 and 2010, but it was no longer possible to match or exceed the performance of 2008. After the 2010 World Championship, he even said goodbye to the PDC. His sponsor for many years had given up and without a sponsor it was impossible for van der Rassel, who besides playing darts in the construction sector, could not afford everything himself.