Mario Vandenbogaerde realizes boyhood dream with qualification for Alexandra Palace: "But giving up job is not an option"

Mario Vandenbogaerde will make his debut at the PDC World Darts Championship next month. The 50-year-old Belgian managed to qualify through the Pro Tour Order of Merit.

Vandenbogaerde performed excellently at this year's Players Championships and may thus prepare for his debut at Alexandra Palace. Previously he was also a semi-finalist at the BDO World Championships. Super Mario' thus becomes the fourth Belgian at the upcoming World Darts Championship, a record, alongside Dimitri Van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts and Mike De Decker.

"We are very happy," wife Carla told Het Nieuwsblad. "Lately it's almost always going well, like again last Thursday at the last Players Championship of the year. He loses at the last sixteen with 101 average. How is it possible? It's never easy, but Mario loves doing it and he feels good at this level. He is also completely satisfied with his arrows now, he is not going to change them anymore. He said that on the phone just now. Mario calls me after every match, when he's out for a while. That way I can always encourage him."

In addition to darts, Vandenbogaerde is also working full time in his own construction company. "It's been very tough the past two years," he echoes. "It's not to be underestimated. In his first year he always went to England by plane, but then he often wasn't home until Monday after a weekend of throwing. Now we go by car. Then we can leave for the train as early as Sunday afternoon and still be home at a decent hour. Sometimes it's midnight, but that's different from Monday when he went back to work. He is self-employed. Many people don't know what it is, having a job on top of that. Should he keep his tour card, Mario is going to work less. You can't keep this up."

Giving up his job is not an option, according to Carla. "Mario is indeed 50 years old, so it starts to weigh on him. But he wants to keep doing his job. He can't drop his business because you don't know what will happen next year. If performance drops... The bills have to keep getting paid lol. Mario also got his construction company out of the ground himself. If it's a less busy period one day, he can still run with it by himself. That's a little diversion, too, besides darts. Mario is not someone to sit at home all day. He has now realized his dream, because he wanted to reach the PDC World Championship. I also know what he can do. He stopped for 15 years and I urged him to start again. How glad I am that he did."