"Now he’s too nervous": Former pro sees major flaw in Wessel Nijman's on stage game

Wessel Nijman has been regarded as one of the revelations on the ProTour for months, but according to experts there is still something missing to really break through on the big stage. The 25-year-old Dutchman, currently ranked No. 36 in the world, has never reached the quarterfinals of a television tournament in eleven attempts.

At the World Grand Prix in Leicester in early October, Nijman lost 2-1 to Rob Cross in the opening round, a defeat that former professional player Andy Cornwall said was mainly due to tension.

Cornwall spoke candidly about the young Dutchman in the Mission Darts Podcast: “Wessel Nijman, who’s playing brilliant darts, clearly got nervous playing Rob Cross. Rob Cross was not playing good darts and still won that game. I used to get too nervous, to the point where my hand was shaking, a bit like Wessel was on Monday night. I saw his hand shaking. I thought, oh no, he’s gone past the point now. Now he’s too nervous. 

The former player recognized himself in Nijman's attitude on stage and gave him some striking advice. "How I used to deal with that was that I started seeing it as showing off. I wanted to throw a high score because I wanted to show what I could do. I wanted people to start cheering behind me. I think Wessel misses that a little bit."

According to Cornwall, it would help Nijman show more emotion on stage. “How I got over it was, I used to feel like I was showing off. So, I used to feel like, right, I want to hit a big score because I want to show off. I want everybody to take notice. 

“I want people to be shouting or cheering behind me. I think Wessel’s missing a bit of that. He hits a 180, there’s no reaction. He hits a big finish; there’s no reaction. There’s not even a smile. 

“He needs to get involved a bit more, and it might take the pressure off. I was feeling it for him. I was like you need to change here. Now look, he’s still new to TV events. He’s not played that many yet. I’m sure it’ll all change.” 

Darts analyst Matt Edgar also believes Nijman can still work on his stage presence. According to Edgar, an outspoken style can help him cope better with tension, something that greats such as Peter Wright have used successfully for years.

“No, you need persona. Peter Wright is not who you see. I’m not 100% who you see. When I played, a lot of me was leaning into a third person, which is an exaggerated version of yourself.  

“So does Peter Wright, a lot of people do. It’s where the nicknames can really work as well, where you lean into and you go, I’ve got to become primetime now.”

Despite missing a breakthrough on television, Nijman is turning in an impressive season. He won Players Championship 30 this year, reached two semifinals on the Euro Tour and regularly proved that he can match the world's top players in terms of level.