"Maybe I should have played for Sweden earlier" - Jeffrey de Graaf finally gets his first World Championship victory
PDCTuesday, 19 December 2023 at 19:15
Jeffrey de Graaf managed to record his first ever victory at the World Darts Championship on Tuesday afternoon with a fine comeback. He defeated Ritchie Edhouse 3-2 in sets after trailing 0-2.
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''Finally,'' spoke a relieved De Graaf afterwards to AD.nl. His World Championship participation had hung by a thread moments before, after Edhouse had missed one matchdart on the bullseye in the third set.
In his previous six World Championship appearances, De Graaf had lost in the first round each time. This time he competed as a Swede having, since 2019, officially been a resident of Sweden. ''Maybe I should have played for Sweden earlier. You switch countries once and you win right away,'' he laughed.
However, the 33-year-old darter noted another difference. ''It's also the first time I'm placing as a qualifier. The previous times I was seeded, now I came from the underdog role.''
With a first World Championship victory in his pocket, De Graaf hopes to follow up his performance next Friday. Then, José de Sousa awaits in the second round. The Portuguese is no longer in the kind of form that saw him win the Grand Slam of Darts in 2020. ''He is a good player, but there are opportunities,'' De Graaf concluded.
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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