Van Duijvenbode to face darts idol Anderson from his own darts room: 'Of course it's special, he is one of my childhood heroes'
PDC
Dirk van Duijvenbode has the honour on Saturday evening to become the first darts player to play an online match against two-time world champion Gary Anderson.
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Anderson revealed in an interview with Sky Sports that he has never played an online game yet. He will make his first PDC Home Tour appearance against Van Duijvenbode, as the Scotsman and the Dutchman kick off the 30th night of the PDC's digital darts event.
Due to internet problems, Anderson initially declined to participate in the PDC Home Tour. The Scotsman now has a better WiFi connection, which means that The Flying Scotsman can compete during the 30th night of the PDC Home Tour. For Van Duijvenbode it will be his second time involved, as he came second in the 23rd group. Some group runners up are getting a second chance because not all Tour Card holders have entered this tournament.
The Titan takes that experience to Saturday night, he said in an interview with Dartsnieuws. "You now know a little bit about what's going to happen. Last time it took some time to get used to it, because you have to say your score. Normally you'd rather not do that to stay in your focus. It is also difficult that you cannot see what your opponent throws. You only know if a double has been hit when your opponent says something. But apart from that it's a nice format.''
The fact that nothing is at stake except some prestige does not mean that Van Duijvenbode does not take the event seriously. His preparation does not differ much from the run-up to a Pro Tour tournament. "I take it seriously though. I'm going to practice for about two hours in advance. That may be slightly less than with a Pro Tour. But in general, my preparation is the same as with a Pro Tour'', Van Duijvenbode explains.
It will be a strange situation for the 27-year-old to play an online match against a darts icon like Anderson from his own darts room on Saturday evening. ''Of course it's special. I like playing against players like him. He is one of my childhood heroes.''
The Belgium duo Kim Huybrechts and Dimitri van den Bergh complete the group for the 30th night on the PDC Home Tour. Van Duijvenbode expects a tough challenge to come through this group. ''It's a tough group. If I defeat Gary Anderson, I've not done the job yet. Kim and Dimitri are also difficult to beat'', he added.
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I stumbled into the world of darts quite by accident back in 2013. For a Journalism School assignment, I had to produce a live sports report and as it happened, the European Tour event in Veldhoven was the only available option. That weekend, I caught the darts bug. The post-match interviews especially appealed to me, as darts players tend to be much more open and approachable than what you usually see with footballers on television.
After a few detours, I joined Dartsnieuws.com in 2017 as editor-in-chief. I don’t have much competitive experience myself, although I once entered a PDC Development Tour weekend just to experience what it’s like from a player’s perspective. I even managed to win a leg against a Tour Card holder and, quite by accident, earned £50 in prize money.
In 2022, I was also involved in the founding of the TOTO Dart Kings, a commercial darts team, where I worked as media manager for three years. Unfortunately, due to new legislation in the Netherlands, that project came to an end in 2025.
Through my work in darts, I’ve been fortunate to travel to some incredible events, from Premier League nights at Ahoy Rotterdam, to several World Championships, and even the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Beyond darts, I’m a passionate sports fan in general. You can always wake me up for a game of tennis or padel, and I love following football, tennis, padel, cycling, Formula 1, and ice skating.
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