INTERVIEW - De Zwaan looks ahead to stacked schedule in coming days: 'It's busy, but also part of the job'

Jeffrey de Zwaan is one of the five Dutch competitors at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam this weekend. For The Black Cobra it will be his debut in this tournament.

The Dutchman received a wildcard from the PDC to participate in the World Series of Darts Finals. That also applied to Jermaine Wattimena and Danny Noppert. The latter is set to be De Zwaan's opponent in the first round on Friday evening. Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld are the other two Dutch participants.

After his debut in the Premier League Darts in Ahoy Rotterdam, De Zwaan will enter the stage again in one of the Netherlands' biggest venues. Whether he now almost feels like a big star? Not yet, he told Dartsnews in an interview.

''I certainly don't feel like a big star yet, but it feels good to play in the Netherlands for my own crowd. I really enjoyed my time on stage in Rotterdam and I hope to be able to do that again tonight.''

The 2018 World Matchplay semi-finalist doesn't mind playing against countryman though. ''I think Danny and I can produce a great game together.''

Stacked schedule

It will be a busy few days for De Zwaan, as he is expected in Wigan on Monday. He participates in the PDC World Youth Championship and the qualifier for the Grand Slam of Darts, if he does not reach the final in Amsterdam.

If the 23-year-old Dutch ace makes the semi-finals in Amsterdam, he will be playing in the World Series of Darts Finals on Sunday evening. De Zwaan must from there be in Wigan on Monday morning by 11am at the latest in order to participate in the World Youth Championship.

"Fortunately, I discussed this with the PDC and my coach", said De Zwaan. ''There are two options: flying early on Monday morning or driving directly to England on Sunday night. So it are busy days for me indeed, but on the other hand it's part of the job.''

The Black Cobra is one of the top favorites for the title at the World Youth Championship. Does he agree with that? ''It's not a B-tournament for me. I have not won it yet, so I'm definitely taking it seriously. Of course people expect me to go far there, but they should not underestimate the level of some youth players'', De Zwaan says about his chances to win a World Youth title.