“I will always believe in myself” – Danny Noppert refuses to lose faith after FIFTH European Tour final heartbreak
PDC
Danny Noppert once again missed out on his first European Tour title on Sunday evening. The 35-year-old Dutchman lost the Dutch Darts Championship final in Maastricht 8-5 to compatriot Niels Zonneveld, marking a fifth defeat in as many European Tour finals for 'The Freeze'.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite the disappointment, Noppert remained positive afterwards and was full of praise for his opponent.
"He is a deserved winner," Noppert conceded after the final. "I had a chance for my first European Tour title, but he deserved it."
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent tournament for Noppert, who had reached the final with a series of impressive victories and appeared to have a genuine opportunity to finally claim his maiden European Tour crown.
ZONNEVELD WINS ET15! 🏆 Niels Zonneveld beats Danny Noppert to claim his first senior PDC title, as the Dutchman beats his compatriot 8-5 in a brilliant match to round off an incredible weekend! 📺 https://t.co/Dogi6ykEH5 #ET15 https://t.co/RNTkPfxndd
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 18, 2026
Noppert starts strongly but Zonneveld fights back
Noppert made an excellent start to the final, quickly establishing a 2-0 lead. However, Zonneveld completely turned the match around by winning five consecutive legs.
Trailing 5-2, Noppert fought his way back into contention. A superb 89 checkout on the bullseye helped him reduce the deficit to 5-4.
ADVERTISEMENT
A spectacular 157 checkout from Zonneveld then proved a crucial moment in the final. The left-hander restored his two-leg advantage before extending his lead to 7-4. Noppert managed to pull another leg back, but could not prevent his compatriot from eventually sealing an 8-5 victory.
Read also
An impressive route to the final
Noppert's performances throughout the final day had made his place in the final thoroughly deserved. The former UK Open champion began his run with a 6-4 victory over Dave Chisnall, averaging more than 100. He then defeated Jermaine Wattimena 6-3, again recording a three-dart average above the 100 mark.
In the quarter-finals, the Dutchman arguably produced his best performance of the tournament. Against Luke Woodhouse, who won the Baltic Sea Darts Open earlier this season, Noppert recorded a personal-best average of 113.42, comfortably defeating the Englishman 6-2.
ADVERTISEMENT
That set up a semi-final against Gian van Veen, who had made European Tour history the previous evening with a record-breaking 120.24 average. Noppert defeated his compatriot 7-5, converting 58% of his attempts at doubles to secure a place in his fifth European Tour final.
Despite another disappointment in a European Tour final, Noppert refuses to lose confidence. "I always have positive feelings. I always believe in myself and trust in myself," he said.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026
- Joking aside, it is the second most watched sport on sky (more than golf, F1 etc) behind football only, and in participation is second to only football and swimming. It doesn't get the attention or sponsorship of "bigger" sports because it's not as sexy, but it's right up there.BandB13-10-2026
- i love darts but you can't seriously believe it's the second most popular sport in the uk. even top five is pushing it. it may be the fastest growing, though.colt13-10-2026
- I'm a big Clayton fan, but he's got this completely wrong. Qualification criteria exists for a reason - so just as failing to make the top 32/64 for the Euro championships/PT Finals means you miss out, so does not lifting a title for this one.26sForFun12-10-2026
- The players who deliberately slow the game down are usually boring and win very little in the way of silverware. Horrible to watch.MrYnyslas197112-10-2026
- [“The Gentle” then used a sweeping and questionable phrase...] You anglocucks are hilariously finished in every sense of the word.Critical99911-10-2026
- I love Jonny but I disagree. The Grand Slam was always supposed to be "champion of champions" type competition. If the top 16 are guaranteed participation in everything there will be so much less jeopardy involved in qualifying and each major tournament will lose its unique flavour which the PDC has worked hard trying to develop. I enjoy following the qualification races towards the end of the year, and while consistency should have its rewards, the truth is Jonny hasn't reached a major final all year or won a single event on the Pro Tour. Being consistent is one thing, but that alone should have consequences as the sport's elite should not be prepared to accept consistently strong performances, their foremost motivation should be to win and this should be what separates them from the rest, not the consistency of their performances. Jonny is expecting that losing should be enough; it shouldn't be, at least not as far as the Grand Slam is concerned.Deduce635811-10-2026
- Well being honest,it doesn't matter what level you play at, there's always someone who slows it down to suit themselves,and extra swig of water, replacing flights, asking the ref what the score is. It happens wherever. I'm not saying it's professional,but I'm sure we've all seen it beforerick6711-10-2026
- Agree completely. Not sure how a ranking event can have a criteria not based on rankings. And he right on popularity. In the UK second only to football.BandB11-10-2026
Loading