“Maybe I have to believe a little bit more in myself” - Niels Zonneveld stuns darts legend Gary Anderson to reach first ranking-major quarter-final

Niels Zonneveld has continued his impressive World Grand Prix run with another eye-catching victory. The Dutchman defeated Gary Anderson 3-1 in sets in the last 16 to book his place in the quarter-finals, with the win over the two-time world champion offering further proof that he is becoming increasingly comfortable on the biggest television stages.

Zonneveld needed a moment afterwards to take in what he had achieved. Beating Anderson would be significant in any circumstances, but doing so in the unique double-in, double-out format of the World Grand Prix made the result even more satisfying.

“What can I say? Beating Gary Anderson in this format, with so much experience, I think the only thing I can do is be proud of myself,” Zonneveld said afterwards, where DartsNews.com were present. “No offence to Gary. He’s a brilliant player, he’s a brilliant person. He gave me all the respect which I wanted. I gave him all the respect and I think he respected me. So yeah, brilliant, brilliant win, but all respect to Gary as well.”

Despite already picking up multiple wins in Leicester, Zonneveld admitted he still does not feel completely at home with the World Grand Prix format, where every leg must begin and end on a double.

“Of course, yeah. It’s strange, double-in, double-out. I’m not getting used to it yet, but it’s going fine. Maybe I have to believe a little bit more in myself, as I did the whole past week.”

That does not mean Zonneveld has suddenly fallen in love with the format either. “It’s fun because it’s something else, but in the end it’s frustrating. It gets me a little bit nervous, but yeah, we’re very happy with this.”

The run has also come at an important point in his life. Zonneveld recently became a father and acknowledged that darts understandably took a back seat for a while before his focus began to return over the last few weeks.

“Not the last couple of months because I became a dad and I wasn’t practising that much. I have been for the last one and a half months and I feel it’s coming back. Of course, this is a good moment, but especially going into the next tournaments like the European Championship, the Worlds and the Players Championship Finals. I keep focusing on that, but at this moment I feel fine. I feel good at home, everything is good, so I think that really helps.”

The birth of his daughter initially changed everything for Zonneveld, with his priorities moving completely away from the sport. “The first eight weeks I was like, darts, I don’t care. But in the end, of course, when my daughter was fine, then you need to focus on the darts and on your job.”

Over the last few weeks that focus has returned. “The last three or four weeks I did and I think it’s going really well again. It wasn’t before, but now I think it’s going well. I need to keep this for the rest of the year.”

Zonneveld also expressed his gratitude towards his girlfriend, who encouraged him to travel to the tournament earlier than usual so that he could arrive rested and fully prepared.

“I’m very lucky that I have my girlfriend, who also takes responsibility. She said, ‘Just go to the tournament two days before. Get some sleep, get some rest and make yourself ready for the first match.’ That’s what I did, so I’m really thankful for that because I think I needed it.”

This is not the first time Zonneveld has reached a televised quarter-final. Looking back, however, he believes his earlier breakthrough may have come before he was genuinely ready to establish himself at that level.

“I think the first time, maybe I deserved it, but I wasn’t in a place where I deserved it. It was in my home country. I beat Dave Chisnall, I beat Gary Anderson, but maybe it was too early. Now I can say I’m in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix and I can be proud of that. Maybe four or five years ago I wasn’t there. It happened, but I wasn’t at that level, I think.”

Zonneveld was also honest enough to acknowledge that Anderson did not produce his best darts on the night. The Dutchman sensed that throughout the contest and admitted it actually added to the pressure once he had established a 2-0 lead.

“Yeah, I felt like that the whole match. I thought, ‘Okay, he’s not brilliant by his standards.’ But that gave me some extra pressure as well because I was 2-0 up and then he played really well.”

He made no attempt to pretend the outcome would necessarily have been the same against Anderson at his very best. “In the end I got over the line, but I think I needed a lesser performance from him because if he turns up, I’m not going to win this game. Let’s be sure about that.”

The 2026 season has represented a breakthrough on several fronts for Zonneveld. He made his World Matchplay and World Grand Prix debuts and will also appear at the European Championship for the first time.

After eight years competing on the professional circuit, he believes that experience is finally beginning to translate onto the television stage. “I think it’s just the experience. I’ve played ProTour now for eight years. It’s just about time to make sure I play these tournaments and play well on stage.”

Zonneveld also sees himself as a player naturally suited to the bigger occasions. “I think I’m a really good stage player. I’m not scared of playing on stage, so I think that’s a good thing because some players are really good on the floor and not on stage. Just keep going like this and I think I can surprise myself.”

Zonneveld was also asked about the current crop of Dutch players emerging on the PDC circuit and reserved particularly high praise for close friend Wessel Nijman.

“I think it’s just where Dutch darts is at. There are so many talented players like Wessel and Kevin. They’re brilliant. I need to compare myself with them and I need to keep close to them. That’s what I try.”

On Nijman, Zonneveld went even further. “Of course, I’m really good friends with Wessel, so I was really gutted last night, but I think he will be top five in the world next year. I’m sure of that. He’s such a really good player. When we practise, he’s incredible. Not only in practice, but the whole year.”

Kevin Doets was another name mentioned by Zonneveld. “Kevin is living in Sweden right now and he’s having a really hard time, but I think he’s there as well. He’s playing really good. It just has to click, and that’s with me as well, I think.”

Earlier in the tournament, Zonneveld had already claimed an important victory over Josh Rock. Whether beating Anderson now ranks as the biggest win of his career, however, he was reluctant to say.

“I don’t know. Maybe because of the tournament. I don’t think this performance was incredible, but I did perform well. I did not choke on the important double, so I think that’s a good thing for me. That’s been a good thing for me this whole year. The World Matchplay, of course, was a little bit tough for me, so maybe I needed this going forward.”

He was particularly pleased with the way he responded after Anderson pulled the match back to 2-1, preventing the Scot from completing the comeback. “I’m really happy with this win, especially when he came back to 2-1, that I got it over the line. I think it’s a really good thing at this tournament because it’s one of the biggest tournaments this year.”

His stronger European Tour results this season have also helped build confidence on television. After a period in which darts understandably became less of a priority following the birth of his daughter, Zonneveld believes that renewed focus is already producing results.

“I needed those couple of runs. Like I said, I didn’t do it over the last couple of months, maybe because I wasn’t really focused on the darts. But now I have been for the last couple of weeks and I think it pays off really fast.”