(EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW) "I was breaking myself": Dirk van Duijvenbode open on injury hell with light at the end of the tunnel

As one of the few players in the top-32 world rankings, Dirk van Duijvenbode still has a job besides darts. It is a conscious choice, as Van Duijvenbode sees his prize money at darts tournaments as a passive income.

During the week, as an administrator he works at an eggplant farm. Leading up to the end of the darts season, DartsNews.com visit him at Van Onselen Aubergines in 's-Gravenzande, where Van Duijvenbode works.

''I've been working here since I was 15,'' explained the current No. 25 on the PDC Order of Merit. ''I basically do everything with finance, everything with personnel and everything with certification. It's not just administration but for the most part it is.''

Van Duijvenbode has been given the freedom by his employer to do his own work. ''I just have an agreement with my employers that my work has to be finished. How I do that I have to figure out for myself. Sometimes that results in 16-hour days when you're behind and have deadlines. But generally not. Often once a year is very busy when the certification (kind of audit) comes along with it. Then I have my normal work, and then darts and that certification come on top of it. You don't really have time for that. I do try to take more and more work off my hands.

Anyone who expected to find greenhouses full of eggplants was wrong. The Dutch eggplant season runs from February through October. Currently, the crop rotation is taking place. The old crop is being cleared out and everything is being properly cleaned for the new season.

That does not mean there is nothing for Van Duijvenbode to do on the farm. This period, he starts around nine o'clock, but most workdays start even earlier. ''Normally I come to start at half past seven. And then I practice at half past nine, half past twelve and half past three. I actually always do that alone. Only sometimes towards the World Championship, I sometimes practice with other people, but that's more as a favor to them than that I like it myself.''

Practice is done by Van Duijvenbode in a specially equipped room at the nursery. ''My employer had been talking about wanting to make a proper dart room for some time. We always had a dart room at the place what is now the canteen. That one wasn't perfect. Then they wanted to create a kind of pub idea. And then they were able to make a nice professional court for me.''

The practice room also contains a huge television screen. Whether the entire company is glued to the TV when Van Duijvenbode has to play an important match? ''That has happened sometimes. Especially with the World Championship of course, those are the really important matches. Especially when I had to play in the afternoon session on a weekday. I don't know if everyone stops then, but I know from the people I often hang out with that they did stop to watch. But nowadays, of course, it's all easier. You can watch on your phone too.''

Working on an eggplant farm has also given Van Duijvenbode a new nickname as a darter. He was previously known as ''The Titan,'' but these days it reads ''Aubergenius'' on the collar of his darts shirt. ''That's because of darts commentator Dan Dawson, who came up with it. At the Euro Tour tournament in Hasselt (in 2020) I reached the semifinals and a lot of colleagues came by to watch. We had to start work at seven in the morning the day after. Then he (Dan Dawson) talked about that all the time and then the nickname 'Aubergenius' came out of that.''

We are now more than four years on from the breakthrough just mentioned at the Euro Tour tournament in Hasselt. Since then, Van Duijvenbode has won six Players Championship tournaments, reached three televised finals and two Euro Tour finals. In late 2023, however, Van Duijvenbode suffered a huge setback when he was felled by a shoulder injury.

''It was nerve damage,'' Van Duijvenbode summed up his injury. ''Probably caused by a virus, but they couldn't figure out the exact reason. The neurologist said we can see that you had it, to what extent you had it, whether it's recovering, but not how it came about. My shoulder blade was sticking out all the way. If my hand went forward, my shoulder blade went back, so to speak.''

Much of this year was dominated by Van Duijvenbode's recovery from his injury. ''I am working with a shock and pacemaker. I've been doing that since March. I now have those at home. Before, I had to travel two hours for it every time. At one point I decided I was going to focus more on my injury than darts. The days got really long at one point. I'd get out the door at seven o'clock and I'd be busy until ten at night. I kept that up for two to three months, but I was breaking myself. The darts weren't going well. Then I felt I did have to make a choice. I wanted to fix the injury first and then focus on darts again. Darts was a short-term thing and my injury for the long term and that's what I chose then.''

This choice paid off after much patience. ''We took the last measurement in August. Then it just looked very good compared to previous measurements. We will do another measurement in December to see how things stand then. I also still have to visit the neurologists this year to see how far that nerve damage has resolved.''

The positive results allowed Van Duijvenbode to intensify his training hours. ''Actually, I have only been practicing again since October. I started training an hour a day then and now I'm up to two hours a day.'' That practice is still a lot less than 'Aubergenius' was used to in the past, though. My old rhythm was three hours. Now I'm not on that every day. That's also because I put a lot of time into other things now, but eventually I'll get back to the old rhythm.''

The fact that Van Duijvenbode can practice for hours again can also be seen in his results. In October he reached the semifinals of a Players Championship tournament and the 32-year-old dart player also reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship. His progression is also noticeable in the averages. Van Duijvenbode had an annual average of 94.28 over the period January through September. His average over the October and November matches is 96.53.

''The quarterfinals at the European Championship was a bit of a boost,'' Van Duijvenbode acknowledged. ''It was a disappointment that I lost to Woodhouse with bad play, but the matches before that I could take confidence from. Especially when you look at the long term and perform again at a big tournament.''

Van Duijvenbode started the European Darts Championship with a 6-3 victory over Martin Schindler and then eliminated Daryl Gurney 10-5. In the last eight, Van Duijvenbode went down 10-4 against Luke Woodhouse. With Woodhouse and also Ritchie Edhouse, Jermaine Wattimena and Danny Noppert in the last four, there might have been a big chance to finally win a majoDr.D

''It was a little double,'' continued the former World Grand Prix finalist. ''The reason I felt I lost was partly the wind. Not just the wind, I've had plenty of doubles. But that's also the reason others flew out. So yeah, a little double. It was a golden opportunity if I had handled it well, but I didn't.''

This weekend the Players Championship Finals is on the schedule for Van Duijvenbode and the World Darts Championship in London will follow in December. Expectations are a lot higher now than last year, when Van Duijvenbode was at the peak of his shoulder injury. ''Last year I hoped to win a round. I hope the same now, but I'm going there now with confidence and higher expectations. The World Championship has always been the goal to at least play well there and hopefully perform well.''

What is success at the World Darts Championship for Van Duijvenbode? ''That does depend a bit on the draw. You can meet really good players in the third round. I think I have to survive Christmas anyway. I just have to win the first match, otherwise it's obviously not successful. Preferably I will win another round after that. If I could defend my place in the last sixteen from two years ago, I would be satisfied with that'', Van Duijvenbode concludes.