Noppert doesn't care about Premier League Darts omission: "Want to keep improving and hopefully win more titles"

Danny Noppert won the second Players Championship of the year last weekend. 'The Freeze' beat Simon Whitlock 8-3 in the final.

On the way to the final, a lot of top players fell. "With TV tournaments I often had that I drew a Gerwyn Price or one of the other absolute top players, but now one eliminated the other. They are all playing well and against everyone you have to be sharp. You have to be very consistent to be in the top. That is why it is super nice to win another Pro Tour," Noppert told De Telegraaf.

"This is a very good start. I achieved a good level, it was stable. In the final I achieved a good average (100.7) and especially finishing I was very strong. You have to be, otherwise you don't win a Pro Tour."

Noppert is currently eighth in the world rankings, yet he was not invited to the Premier League. "I'm not sad about it, mind you," said the 32-year-old Dutchman. "As someone from the top-10 of the world you may think seriously about it and I also had a super good year last year, because I think I finished the year fifth in terms of prize money. But now the focus is just back on continuing to improve myself and hopefully more titles next year."

Early next month, Noppert heads to the UK Open as defending champion. "Of course you dreamed of winning a TV title, but to do that is incredible," he looks back. The final then was a very bad match. That one was after very long days, but I was super happy to win in the end. The rest of the year then I also went steady. I go there now as defending champion and that takes some getting used to, but that's what you do it for."