Noppert hopes to return to form after holiday at World Series of Darts Finals: "Now I have had enough time to prepare"

Danny Noppert travels to Amsterdam on Friday full of confidence. The Dutch capital is hosting the World Series of Darts Finals this weekend at the AFAS Live.

It is where Noppert made it to his first televised final at the PDC in 2019. Then 'The Freeze' lost in the final battle of the World Series of Darts Finals to compatriot Michael van Gerwen.

This season, Noppert also posted two fine results at tournaments in the Netherlands. He was in the final of the Dutch Darts Championship in Zwolle and reached the semifinals at the Dutch Darts Masters in the Ziggo Dome.

''Playing in front of your own crowd always gives extra motivation. The last few times I achieved good results at tournaments played in the Netherlands,'' Noppert confirmed on the TOTO Dart Kings website.

The reigning UK Open champion thinks he knows why he usually shows excellent results at tournaments played in his own country. ''I do like the fact that I don't have to spend the night in a hotel and can just sleep in my own bed at night. In hotels I don't always sleep at my best and at home I do. I think everyone has that.''

''I do think that's the main reason I often do well (at home, ed.). That I just wake up at home at my own leisure, then eat my own breakfast and can prepare myself for my race to pop.''

The 31-year-old dart player from Joure will play the experienced Simon Whitlock in the first round on Friday night. Noppert lost his first match twice in the first two tournaments after the summer break and has been working hard this week to find the right form again.

''I'm practicing a lot because I just got back from vacation. That vacation mode takes a while to get out of. At the previous Euro Tour tournaments (early September, ed.) I went out twice in my first match and of course that is not nice. That was just after the vacations, so I'm not worried about that either. Now I have had enough time to prepare.''