"The chemistry on stage was missing, you have more of that between Dirk van Duijvenbode and Michael van Gerwen" - Jelle Klaasen on Netherlands' performance at World Cup of Darts

For the Netherlands, the past World Cup of Darts ended in disappointment. Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert were eliminated in the second round after an 8-2 defeat against Belgium.

The latest episode of the podcast 'Double Top' discussed the Dutch's performance vigorously. "Beforehand, I thought the combination of Michael and Danny could work," opens Tim Hartman of the Algemeen Dagblad. "They are two totally different characters, but sometimes that can work, although it didn't show at the tournament. Michael is not in his best form at the moment and Danny is quite a stoic person, I did see advantages in that beforehand because they could relate to each other. This year it didn't really work, but I think it can still work out well in the future."

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"Still, they threw great," adds former BDO world champion Jelle Klaasen, who himself has never had the pleasure of representing the Netherlands at the PDC World Cup of Darts. "They were certainly not less than the Belgians, but they threw some good finishes at the right moments."

Michael van Gerwen fooled around with Kim Huybrechts beforehand

Van Gerwen-Van Duijvenbode

Still, Klaasen thinks another partner would suit Van Gerwen more than Noppert, with The Cobra even having a name in mind. "Someone like Dirk van Duijvenbode is very fiery just like Michael, Michael needs that feeling too and he doesn't get that from Danny," Klaasen explains.

"But it's certainly not down to Noppert, he's just who he is," Klaasen concludes, sure to gibe Noppert the praise he deserves. "Besides, Danny is very often underrated in my opinion, I think he is the most constant Dutchman of the last five years. He may not have the most titles, but has been performing great for a long time."

Both Noppert and Van Gerwen will be back in singles action next week as the World Matchplay gets underway in Blackpool. Van Gerwen will start as 2nd seed, whilst Noppert also has protected status in the draw, seeded 12th.

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