Van Duijvenbode lay awake for several days after elimination at Grand Slam of Darts: "I totally didn't show up"

Dirk van Duijvenbode gets to advance a round at the Players Championship Finals. The 30-year-old Dutchman defeated Mickey Mansell 6-5 in his opening match.

"I knew beforehand that it would be a very tough match," Van Duijvenbode said as per TOTO Dart Kings. "After all, I have played against him many times in the past and he is not a nice opponent, he throws slow and then also takes his darts out of the board particularly slow. At a 4-2 deficit it looked bad for a while, but just then I threw some high finishes and they gave me the boost I needed."

Van Duijvenbode also had problems with his darts. "The points were crooked, that's why I had to play with an old set I still had with me. I'm going to keep using those now for the rest of the tournament."

Aubergenius also touched on his elimination in the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost 10-4 to Joe Cullen. "I really struggled with that. I totally didn't show up in that match. I still have no idea how that could have happened in such an important match."