“Now he looks like a kid!" "He used to have a lot of muscle — he was massive”: he laughed, Vincent van der Voort jokes on Gerwyn Price's weight loss, issues plea to The Iceman

Vincent van der Voort didn’t hold back in the latest episode of the Darts Draait Door podcast. Speaking from Dortmund, the former professional offered his frank assessments of Wessel Nijman’s European Championship performance and Gerwyn Price’s striking physical transformation.

Van der Voort noted that while Nijman’s talent is unquestionable, his composure on the doubles remains a major obstacle. During the European Darts Championship, Nijman produced an impressive display against Michael van Gerwen but faltered in the crucial moments. Despite leading, he missed several match darts and ultimately lost 6–5 after Van Gerwen punished his errors.

Van der Voort said the issue is becoming a pattern. “He’ll have to do something different, because this isn’t working,” he said on the podcast. “You’re seeing this happen more often with Nijman. At first, you think it’s just a few incidents — and he probably thinks that way too — but at some point, it becomes a thing. You can just see those darts going miles off.”

The Dutchman believes the problem isn’t down to Nijman’s ability but to how he handles pressure. “Maybe he should throw through instead of stepping back — keep the rhythm going,” Van der Voort suggested. “He often stands with his darts poking his side, taking a long time to compose himself. I get that he’s trying to lower his heart rate, but I don’t know if that’s actually helping him.”

Van der Voort feels a small change in Nijman’s approach could make a big difference. "Sometimes it’s better to throw in rhythm, to use that adrenaline and nervousness,” he explained. “Try to throw by feel instead of trying to place it. What he’s doing now clearly isn’t working.”

Still, Van der Voort remains optimistic about Nijman’s potential. “If he gets it right a few times, he’ll be away,” he said. “He’ll never be as ruthless as some of the top players — he just won’t — but he can definitely improve. The question is whether he’s open to trying something new. You can also just keep doing the same thing and hope it fixes itself, but that’s a choice he has to make.”

The conversation then turned to Gerwyn Price, whose dramatic weight loss has raised eyebrows in recent months. Both Van der Voort and podcast host Damian Vlottes were struck by the change when they saw the Welshman in Dortmund.

Vlottes recalled meeting Price after his defeat to Daryl Gurney. “I thought it was a kid in his shirt,” he said. “There’s nothing left of him. You can’t really comment when someone’s overweight, so let’s be respectful when someone’s underweight too — but he’s lost a huge amount.”

Van der Voort, never one to miss a chance for a joke, replied in his typical tongue-in-cheek fashion. “He used to have a lot of muscle — he was massive,” he laughed. “Now he looks like a kid! Pretty soon he’ll be getting beaten up by Bradley Brooks. He used to be so broad, always in the gym. But he’s gone too far now. He really should put some weight back on — this isn’t good.”

While his remarks drew laughter, Van der Voort made clear that his concern was genuine. “It’s not that I’m worried about him — for all I care, he can lose even more — but it’s meant as friendly advice,” he added. “I’d tell him to eat a bit more. He owns a fish and chip shop, so that shouldn’t be a problem!”

That line drew a chuckle from Vlottes. “It’s funny, isn’t it,” he said. “We’ve reached the point where we’re advising darters to eat more.”