Jelle Klaasen rules out a return to the top level for now: "If things go crazy and I win a Tour Card, I don’t think I can accept it"

A full-time return at the highest level is not a realistic option for Jelle Klaasen for now. The former world champion is still struggling with dystonia and does not know if his body will ever allow him to consistently reach his old level again. The 41-year-old Dutchman is not quitting yet. With new management behind him, he wants to find out over the coming months how much perspective remains.

Klaasen has joined Mach Darts, the management team that also works with his good friend Gian van Veen. The partnership takes effect immediately. For Klaasen, it is crucial that his new team is not focused solely on a PDC return. “They’re really good people and we already had long-standing, warm contact. My previous management didn’t pressure me on results, but they were only focused on the PDC. That’s not where my solution and future lie. Mach Darts also want to support and guide me a step lower, like the WDF and Modus Super Series. That fits much better right now.”

Klaasen became BDO world champion in 2006 and reached the PDC World Championship semi-finals eleven years later. His career now looks very different. Because of dystonia, a neurological movement disorder, he cannot consistently approach his former level.

The major swings between good and bad days are the hardest part. “I have very good days when I still average in the 90s or even above, but a day later it can be absolutely nothing and I’m averaging 70. That’s the hardest thing to accept: my head knows I can do much better, but it just doesn’t come out.”

Klaasen says he has tried virtually every possible treatment in the Netherlands. Hypnosis and botox, among others, did not bring the desired result. The uncertainty about how the condition will progress remains. “Unfortunately, it’s not dartitis or a broken bone you can recover from. It could be that I get over this. That’s why I’m still playing now, hoping it clicks again and goes well. I just don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of it.”

Starting a new partnership does not automatically mean Klaasen will continue for years. He explicitly sees the coming months as a period to discover whether progress is still possible.

“In the coming months we’re going to try and see if there’s improvement. It could just as well be that we stop afterwards. That’s how I am: I want to see progress and if that’s the case, I’d like to continue next year to try to improve my level. But if I feel I’m without a chance at the tournaments I go to, then it’s pointless to carry on.”

His new management is not demanding specific results. Klaasen is the one setting the bar high. “I don’t feel pressure, it doesn’t all have to be good. This process could easily take a year. We’ll see what happens and whether we find a solution. I do put that pressure on myself because I want it so much. I want to take steps. I only played my first tournament in months recently in Sweden. In my head it was basically already over. But now I want to try everything.”

A full PDC comeback is not at the top of his list right now. Klaasen does plan to play Q-School in January. His main goal is to gain access to the Challenge Tour.

Even if he were to win a Tour Card unexpectedly, it remains doubtful whether he would actually accept it. “I’m putting a line through the PDC for now. I do want to play Q-School in January to see if I can reach the Challenge Tour. But if things go crazy and I win a Tour Card, I don’t think I can accept it. I don’t dare take that risk with how things are going for me now. It would have to turn 180 degrees in the coming months.”

His focus therefore shifts to circuits with different demands and expectations. The WDF and MODUS Super Series allow Klaasen to keep competing without a return to the absolute elite as the immediate benchmark.

That is exactly where he sees the value of moving to Mach Darts. “They’re personally involved and support players like me at lower-tier events such as the WDF and Modus Super Series. I’m really happy with that. They also help in other ways, for example with the mental side or other matters.”