"I am worthy of that PDC Tour Card" - Mario Vandenbogaerde saving his Pro Tour skin with Flanders Darts Trophy heroics

Mario Vandenbogaerde has qualified for the last sixteen of the Flanders Darts Trophy. The 52-year-old Belgian defeated Jonny Clayton 6-3 in the second round and will face Danny Noppert for a place in the quarterfinals. Vandenbogaerde impressed again in front of his home crowd and, in his own words, is living the dream.

Having already dealt with Michael Smith in the first round, he rose to the occasion again in Antwerp. "I'm in a dream," Vandenbogaerde told HLN. "I quickly got out to a 5-0 lead, but then the stress took over for a while. I started thinking too much, I still have to try to get that out."

'Super Mario' achieved a very high finish percentage, hitting six of his eight attempts at a double, for example. "We had to. After all, Jonny is a great player and you can't afford to give him too many chances."

Vandenbogaerde is making a golden case toward retaining his PDC Tour Card with this performance. "I have my back against the wall and am actually under pressure every match. But I am extremely proud that I was able to show the Belgian public that I am worthy of that PDC Tour Card. And maybe in the coming years I can aim even higher than that top 64."

The audience sang loudly to the West Fleming at the Antwerp Expo. "I want to thank them wholeheartedly, with their support I feel like I can take on the whole world. I'm proud to be Belgian."

Vandenbogaerde will take on Danny Noppert for a place in the quarterfinals. "I've known Danny for a long time, he's a super guy and also a rock solid dart player. But there are definitely chances for me and I want to grab them."