“It keeps getting more remarkable” – Niels Zonneveld remains the only player to have beaten Luke Littler at a ranking event in 2026

Niels Zonneveld can look back on a hectic spell. The Dutchman recently became a father, made his World Matchplay debut and, for now, remains the only player to have beaten Luke Littler at a ranking event this year. Yet the overriding feeling is disappointment about his Blackpool display. Zonneveld missed three match darts against Stephen Bunting and saw the win slip away. On Vincent van der Voort and Damian Vlottes’ podcast Darts Draait Door, he reflected at length on that match and discussed his goals for the rest of the season.

That Zonneveld is still the only player to have defeated Littler at a ranking tournament this year is becoming ever more striking. The reigning world champion just keeps racking up titles.

“It’s getting more special at the moment, of course,” Zonneveld admits. “He just keeps winning. That I’m the only one this year, that’s nice. But ultimately I don’t get much out of it beyond that win. The whole statistic doesn’t really matter that much.”

Zonneveld isn’t shouting it from the rooftops either. “It doesn’t really matter that much to me. I do think it’s cool that I beat him. But what he’s doing right now, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with anyway. If you watch him throw at the Matchplay… it feels almost impossible to beat him.”

A lot has changed for Zonneveld away from the oche as well. He recently became a father and had to adjust to a different daily rhythm. That transition has gone surprisingly smoothly so far.

“It’s going really well. I’ve just become a father, so life is a bit different right now. But it’s going very well. The little one’s doing great and I’ve already found my rhythm again.”

The dreaded sleepless nights have also been limited so far. “It’s honestly not bad at all. I think we’ve been very lucky up to now. I sleep pretty well through to around seven or eight, sometimes even later. So I can’t complain.”

Zonneveld and his girlfriend try to split the nights fairly, though they take his need for rest into account around tournaments. “Right now we’re alternating. We agreed that my girlfriend takes the nights in the two days before I have to leave for a tournament. And if she’s got something on, I’ll do the nights. If I’m at home, it’s not a big deal.”

He can also share the experience of fatherhood with a close friend. Kevin van der Voort, son of Vincent van der Voort, also recently became a father. Their children are only a few weeks apart. “That’s nice. We can bounce ideas off each other. I think it’s a four-week difference, so it’s almost nothing. Super fun. And I’m glad everything’s going well for both.”

Kevin van der Voort was also present for Zonneveld’s World Matchplay debut. Emotions ran high after his painful defeat to Bunting. “He’s had that before when he comes along with me,” Zonneveld says. “I can appreciate it, because it shows I mean a lot to him and that he really wants it for me. Not that I doubted it, but you can see it then.”

After a loss like that, Zonneveld has little appetite for someone immediately pointing out what went wrong. “At that moment, I’d rather not have someone say: here and here it went wrong and that’s where you missed chances. You don’t want to hear that.”

Sometimes the frustrations come out together. “Sometimes we sit there cursing together,” he laughs. “But only when it’s just the two of us. Not in the crowd.”

The defeat to Bunting still gnaws at Zonneveld. The Dutchman mounted an impressive fightback but couldn’t finish the job. “I obviously don’t look back on it positively. Not at all. I think I should have just won that match. I said it right afterwards and I still think so.”

By his own account, he squandered too many chances early on. “At the start I missed way too many chances on my doubles. Especially the ones where I had three darts at a double. Generally that part of my game is pretty solid, especially on stage. This time they just didn’t go in.”

That allowed Bunting to open up an 8-5 lead. Still, Zonneveld believed a turnaround was possible. “Then a sort of turbo kicked in. No idea why. All match long, even at 8-5, I felt: I can still win this. If I just take my chances and keep the scoring a bit steady, it’s on.”

That feeling proved justified. Zonneveld battled back and even moved in front. “I actually took the lead again. I basically had it on a plate.”

At 10-9 he then had three darts at tops to seal it. Bunting, from 258, hadn’t piled on maximum pressure, though he did hit 140. “That’s quite a shame, of course, because ideally, when he throws them away, you want it to be something like 45. But after that I still have to take it out myself. I didn’t.”

Bunting then punished the misses without mercy with a 118 finish. “And then you get that 118 right in your face. That one stung.”

The defeat was especially bitter because Zonneveld knew who would be waiting for him in the next round. Josh Rock had won his opening match earlier and Zonneveld saw opportunities against the Northern Irishman.

“Beforehand you obviously already knew you’d get Josh Rock in the second round, because he played before me. Regardless of who won that match, I thought: there are definitely chances there. Of course you have to play well, but that’s true against anyone at the Matchplay.”

That’s why the overriding feeling is that he let a huge chance slip. “I’m mainly very disappointed, because I simply had Bunting. I just had him. The comeback was on and all you need to do is take out tops. I didn’t. You’re really selling yourself short there.”

Even the fact that Zonneveld threw two 10-darters during the match offered little consolation afterwards. “At that moment I couldn’t care less. Now I think: yes, it’s nice that you’ve done that once. But I’d rather have just won the match, even if it meant throwing a bunch of 21-darters in between.”

Zonneveld is now trying to put the disappointment behind him. There are still plenty of opportunities in the remainder of the season to climb further on the PDC Order of Merit. His primary goal is clear. “Basically the main goal is simply to be in the top 32 after the World Championship. I think that’s a realistic target.”

Zonneveld especially hopes to make important strides at the World Grand Prix and the European Championship. “I obviously want to win at least one round at the Grand Prix and the Euros. Those are essentially the tournaments where I have nothing to defend and where the prize money is there to be won. And that way I can climb the rankings.”

A first quarter-final at a major TV event would be a big help. Zonneveld certainly believes it’s possible. “That would be nice. That’s definitely what I’m aiming for. In principle it’s two wins, so it’s not impossible or anything. You saw that at the Matchplay. If tops drops and then you play a good game against Rock, it can happen just like that. So why not at the Euros or the Grand Prix?”

With Players Championships and Euro Tours still on the schedule, there are plenty of chances to bank ranking money. The task for Zonneveld is clear: leave the missed opportunity in Blackpool behind and take the next step in the coming months. A spot in the top 32 after the World Championship should be the ultimate reward.