"I hope the hunger is back in him, because he’s a class guy and player": Jimmy van Schie randomly stumbled upon Benito van de Pas in bar, hopes for Big Ben return

After years of building, setbacks, and perseverance, Jimmy van Schie finally captured his coveted PDC Tour Card at Q-School last week. Speaking to Tungsten Tales, the Dutchman looked back in detail on an emotional yet controlled week at the qualifying event. The contrast with twelve months earlier could hardly have been greater. Where the pressure was paralyzing back then, this time he stepped up as a player who knew what he could do, what he wanted, and how to finish the job.

“I’m feeling very good,” Van Schie said. “Happy to get the card, of course. I’m very curious to see how the year is going to go.”

That it ultimately worked out was not a complete surprise to Van Schie. Quite the opposite. “Yes, I played very good on the first day of the first stage,” he explained. “I directly qualified for the final stage and then I played very consistent on the final stage, so that made me win my card.”

That quick qualification gave him peace of mind. Q-School is known as a gruelling stretch of long days, packed schedules and mental fatigue. “To be honest, I wanted to get it done as quick as possible,” he said. “I don’t want to get a scenario that I wouldn’t get through. I was actually happy with two days extra rest because it was a very tough few months for me. I was very happy that I got it on the first day.”

Anyone who saw Van Schie at Q-School last year saw a different player. Expectations were high, the pressure immense — and that is exactly what broke him. “Yes, I think it felt a lot different,” he said. “I’m going in there with a lot more confidence because of course I won the WDF World Championship and the World Masters, so I was not that nervous to go into Q-School this year.”

That confidence was missing a year earlier. “Last year I felt a lot of pressure because everybody was expecting me to get a card and the confidence wasn’t really there,” he admitted. “I was playing well, but the last days I didn’t know what to do. I felt so nervous and just couldn’t hold my nerves and didn’t get it.” This time, the approach was different. “This year I’ve stayed calm, stayed relaxed, stayed focused, stayed prepared, so that made me win my card.”

Not everything went smoothly this year either. In the final stage there were moments when things threatened to slip away. “The first day I lost against Damien Moore,” Van Schie recalled. “I started off like a train, a 12- or 13-darter, and then after that his checkouts were just amazing and I didn’t get any chances. He punished me a few times.”

A day later brought another painful defeat, this time against Alexander Merkx. “I was 5–1 up,” he said. “I think I made a mistake there to relax a bit too much in that game. I think I got over the line, but he kept on fighting and he beat me, so I was a bit disappointed with myself.” Still, Van Schie did not panic. “I didn’t play poorly, so I knew I had the games to beat these guys.”

On the third day, Van Schie sensed the challenge ahead. “I already had a feeling that my draw was going to be heavy,” he said. “And then I looked at the draw and I saw Benjamin Pratnemer. Of course I always take one game as it comes, but you look further and see the winner of Uren van der Velde and Alexander Merckx and you think, ‘Come on Jimmy, you can do this.’”

The match against Pratnemer proved to be one of the moments of the tournament. “That game was so good,” Van Schie said. “He hit a 147 to break me, to go 5–4 ahead. I just looked at the board and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ But I stayed focused, threw a 12-darter and then a 14-darter to win the game and carried on from there.”

The remarkable thing about the final day was that Van Schie already knew he had accumulated enough points. “You always think about how many points is enough,” he explained. “We were like nine with a good leg difference, and with ten it’s almost impossible to beat. At that moment I had eleven, I think, when I was in the final.”

That created a strange dynamic. “I just wanted to win it,” he said. “But I also felt a little bit relieved because I already knew in the back of my mind that I had it. When I lost that last game, I didn’t panic because I knew I already had it.”

Whether the final day felt odd because of that was a question he heard a lot. “I had a lot of questions about that,” Van Schie said. “For me, I just want to make a statement. I want to make sure I play consistent every time I play. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but when I lost, I just wanted to go home and celebrate.”

With a Tour Card secured, a new chapter now begins: two years on the PDC tour. “In a dream world?” Van Schie smiled. “I’ll get my goals. I always put small goals for myself.” One of the first targets is clear. “I want to play a Euro Tour tournament. I lost twice in qualifiers before, but now I have a lot more opportunities. I want to win a lot of rounds on the Pro Tours and then hopefully the World Championships at the end of the year.”

Strikingly, Van Schie actually expects to have more time. “I think I have a lot more time now,” he said. “Before I was doing everything — Challenge Tour, WDF, Modus, local tournaments, everything. And now it’s only PDC.” That doesn’t mean stepping away entirely from grassroots darts. “I will make sure I keep playing the local tournaments and the local leagues, because I want to be as consistent as I can.”

That shift also means saying goodbye to familiar circuits. “On the WDF, I think I completed it,” Van Schie said. “I didn’t win the Dutch Open, but I won the World Masters and the WDF World Championship.” His time at MODUS was just as productive. “I won a special week, I won multiple normal weeks, and I lost in the Champions League final twice. That’s a pity, but the PDC Tour Card is for me now the best thing that could happen.”

Still, Van Schie remains a strong advocate of the WDF route. “Before, I was only playing Challenge Tour,” he explained. “My manager said to me, ‘Jimmy, do you want to join me on the tour of the WDF?’ He told me that if you win tournaments, it gives you a lot more confidence and stage experience.”

That advice proved crucial. “I went to the Romania Open and I won it,” Van Schie recalled. “I felt so nervous on that stage again, but I also felt the hunger again to do it more. I was very, very proud of myself that I directly won it. That was the key.”

According to Van Schie, his journey — like that of others — shows the pathway still works. “There are so many tournaments and so many good players,” he said. “If somebody loses their card, most players will go back to the WDF because they love darts and it’s good for the progression again.”

Self-belief has always been a trademark of Van Schie, and he believes it will serve him well on the PDC tour. “I’ve already played a few games on the Pro Tour and I’ve also won a few games already, also against big names,” he said. “For me, I play better when I get pushed, and I know I’m going to get pushed on the Pro Tour.”

Asked who he would most like to face, the answer came easily. “I would love to play against Luke Littler, or Luke Humphries, or one of the other big names — Michael van Gerwen, for example. I haven’t played against them yet, so that will be fun.”

Despite recent shifts in Dutch darts, Van Schie’s respect for the country’s greatest player remains absolute. “Michael van Gerwen is still the GOAT in the Netherlands,” he said. “Gian van Veen is playing very, very good, but the respect is always there for Michael.”

Finally, Van Schie shared a notable moment from the past week: a chance meeting with Benito van de Pas. “Last Tuesday I was at the Oranjebar, where I always play my local tournaments,” he said. “I came across Benito and thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really long time ago.’ He picked up his darts again and played very decent. I hope the hunger is back in him, because he’s a class guy and a class player as well.”