"I was required to do that in exchange for penalty reduction, otherwise I wouldn't have" - Wessel Nijman recalls made video showing dangers of match fixing after his scandal

Things are now running smoothly for Wessel Nijman on the PDC Pro Tour following his previous suspension. The talented 24-year-old Dutchman has now moved up to 86th place in the world rankings.

Nijman has only had his Tour Card since the beginning of this year after previously serving a suspension for match-fixing. Nijman was suspended for two and a half years in 2020 after deliberately losing a match during the Modus Icons of Darts League, an online tournament during the coronavirus pandemic. The young Dutchman immediately admitted his guilt and because he cooperated with the investigation he was not suspended for five years as originally demanded, but "only" two and a half years. However, he was then obliged to cooperate with an education by the players' union PDPA to warn other players of the dangers of matchfixing.

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That education included recording a video used to help other young darters from falling into the same mistakes as Nijman. "I was required by the DRA (Darts Regulation Authority) and the PDPA (players' union) to do that in exchange for penalty reduction, otherwise I wouldn't have recorded that video," Nijman says to the 'Double Top' podcast. "That video is still being used now. To participate in the World Darts Championship, young players have to take a test and that includes five questions about my video."

Wessel Nijman in action on the European Tour earlier this year

Earlier, Nijman revealed that during his suspension he had a lot of support from Jacques Nieuwlaat (darts commentator and board member of the players' union). "During my suspension, I was mainly guided by Jacques. He doesn't really choose a side, but you get the feeling that he is on your side. He helped me with everything during that period and is the person I had the most help from."

Nijman immediately returned strong after his suspension. "I almost immediately won a tournament of Strong Darts and then I won the Open Rivierenland (ranking tournament of the Dutch Darts Association). Then it started itching again to take my chance on the professional circuit and I realized that anything was still possible in my career."

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