"Had the idea the whole time that I was the better player" - Wessel Nijman left with sour taste after defeat to Steve Beaton at the World Darts Championship

Wessel Nijman failed to qualify for the second round on his debut at the World Darts Championship. The 23-year-old Dutchman went down 3-1 in his opening match against Steve Beaton.

Nijman came to Alexandra Palace with high expectations, but sadly for the Dutchman, he has to pack up after just one round. "In the first set I missed three doubles for a 2-0 lead in legs, he took advantage of that and so I was immediately on the chase. Still, I had the idea the whole time that I was the better player," Nijman told Viaplay.

Trailing 2-0 in sets, Nijman then won five legs in a row to win the third set and take a 2-0 lead in legs in the fourth set. "I felt really good at that point and thought I would still win the match. The fact that I still let it slip then is very sour."

"Maybe I was a little too fired up after winning those five legs in a row," Nijman continued. "That's a bit of a lack of experience anyway. I threw too many low scores afterwards and too many visits without a treble. You can't really afford that at this level."

Finally, Nijman also briefly looked to the future. "Despite this defeat, this World Championship debut still tastes like more. Hopefully this World Championship will be the first of many."