“I thought I would be there”: Van Duijvenbode regretted having to play qualifying tournament for Amsterdam

Dirk van Duijvenbode is one of four Dutchmen making an appearance at this weekend's World Series of Darts Finals at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam.

'Aubergenius,' who became a father for the first time in late August, was paired with compatriot Danny Noppert in the draw. Unlike Noppert, Van Duijvenbode was not invited by the PDC to participate in Amsterdam. The 31-year-old unexpectedly had to play the qualifying tournament to qualify for this event.

''Too bad,'' Van Duijvenbode judges in conversation with AD.nl about the surprising decision of the PDC. ''You have to deal with it. Other years I was chosen. I reached the final last year and am now higher than previous years so I thought I would be there'', said Van Duijvenbode.

And so the winner of three Players Championship tournaments in 2023 decided to still travel to Barnsley in early September. ''In terms of planning with the baby, I thought I would skip two more weekends. It's no different. I did want to qualify, because I'm not going to skip Amsterdam on purpose."

In recent years, Van Duijvenbode could unconditionally count on the support of the Dutch public. Whether that applies again on Friday night remains to be seen. After all, last year's losing finalist is playing against a compatriot.

''You have to wait and see which side the public chooses. Against a foreigner you always have the unconditional support,'' said Van Duijvenbode, who already had a premonition that he would have to face a compatriot.

''Somehow I felt it was going to be Barney or Danny. But yeah yeah, it is what it is. Danny is a fine opponent in terms of pace and he never does crazy things, but he is also a good player so you don't always win from him. I think he has won more often from me than the other way around, but our matches are always close games'', Van Duijvenbode commented on the encounter with his World Cup partner.