Co Stompé looked back on his darts career in the podcast 'Everybody loves the Darts'. The Matchstick' considers the win at the World Cup of Darts as one of his most beautiful victories.
Stompé won that title in 2010 at the side of Raymond van Barneveld. It was also the first edition of this tournament and not yet televised live in the Netherlands.
"I have very good memories of that tournament. At the time I went to The Hague twice a week to train with Raymond and to win the title with him was very special.
"We also had no idea how the tournament was seen in Holland," continued Stompé. "However, when we got home we were overwhelmed with congratulations. We also received a letter from Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Queen Beatrix and Minister of Sport Edith Schippers. I was also invited to lunch by Willem-Alexander, but I politely declined, as I don't really like the attention."
Mixed feelings
Stompé looks back on his darts career with mixed feelings. "I got too little out of it. If I would have been more serious, put more energy in it, I could have won a lot more. There used to be a lot less competition and it was easier to get into the big tournaments. As a result, I was often less sharp. Moreover, my TV work (Stompé first worked for SBS 6 and currently for RTL 7) was almost more lucrative than darts."