"Last year I was too nervous and I bottled it" - Lakeside champion Jimmy van Schie steps up to PDC Pro Tour after avenging Q-School heartbreak

Jimmy van Schie has wrapped up a successful week at PDC Q-School 2026. The 32-year-old Dutchman finished first in the European Q-School Order of Merit and will therefore be able to compete on the Pro Tour for at least the next two years.

Just like last year, Van Schie, the current WDF number one, started Q-School as the overwhelming favorite. Where it went wrong last year, he managed to live up to expectations this time. The 6ft9 (2.07m) Dutchman can now look to conquer the PDC after his WDF success.

“Last year, I think I let the pressure get to me a little bit too much. I was watching social media and people were saying: 'you're already there'... I was too nervous and I bottled it honestly,” Van Schie said in conversation with the PDC afterwards, reflecting on a disappointing Q-School twelve months ago, which saw the much-fancied Dutchman come up short. "I'm very happy I kept my game up this year and I think I deserved a Tour Card."

Van Schie won the WDF World Championship at the Lakeside Country Club at the end of last year, becoming the latest in a long line of Lakeside champio's to make the step-up to the PDC. “I think I've proven that I can play on the Pro Tour," he smiles. "I feel at home there and I feel like I deserve to play on the Pro Tour.

Van Schie therefore bids farewell to the WDF as the reigning world number one in that federation. In the Lakeside final he defeated 15-year-old Scottish talent Mitchell Lawrie 6-3. He will not defend his title at the end of this year.

In addition, Van Schie also won the World Masters last year, the second-biggest tournament within the WDF. Van Schie has also enjoyed success in the PDC, albeit on the second tier, when he won the eighteenth event of the Challenge Tour in 2024.