Van Egdom ends his career: "It was one of the hardest decisions of my life"

Jeffrey Van Egdom recently put an end to his career. The 34-year-old Belgian wants to spend more time with his family.

Van Egdom did not take his decision lightly, he explains in conversation with Dartsnews.com. "It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but through the corona period I started to realize how much I love being here at home with my family. And how much I've already had to miss my daughters growing up."

Still, he leaves the door slightly ajar regarding a possible comeback. "Never say never, they sometimes say. But I fear it, darts has been a part of my life but now I have other priorities."

Van Egdom competed in a World Championship once, more specifically in 2019 when he competed at the BDO edition. "That was a dream come true. As a teenager I watched it on the BBC. And then to play there myself was really great."

Yet that is not his fondest memory of his darts career. "The very best one remains the 2019 Dutch Open. That was a really great weekend, I won third place and afterwards we celebrated with a number of friends in the marquee until the wee hours of the morning."

The sport of darts is particularly popular in Belgium at the moment, partly due to the increasing media attention. "Yet it didn't make my decision to quit any harder. I am of course pleased that the sport is gaining in popularity, but with me the hunger has been satisfied for a while. And then it's time for something else. Belgium is full of talent. I am sure that with the right framework, several Belgians will break through in the future."

Finally, we asked Jeffrey what are his aspirations in the future. "Winning the Euromillions would be nice," he laughs. ''But good health and happy children will also take you far!"