"One advantage: I play on Monday against players who were as bad as me this year": Vincent van der Voort still dreams of World Championship qualification

Since 2002, Vincent van der Voort was always present at a World Championship (BDO or PDC). However, that could be about to come to an end this year.

Van der Voort is currently 37th in the world rankings and has not yet managed to qualify for the upcoming PDC World Darts Championship. The 47-year-old Dutchman will get one last chance today at the qualifying tournament for Tour Card holders. "To be honest, I never expected to be in this situation," Van der Voort told AD.nl.

"Sports doesn't stop for anyone, it's that hard and that's the way it should be. If you look at my year, I don't have much to look forward to at the World Championship," he said. "That would hurt. Simple. If you're not there, you don't count at all for a while. I've had valleys before, but then it was always still good enough. This year was the bottom of the bottom line. Fifteen years ago, this was the worst thing that could happen to me. But yes, you get older and wiser and now you realize there are much worse things in life."

Van der Voort was also not spared on a private level this past year, with several family members ill. "They also have private lives. All I want to say is that I had to deal with seriously ill people in the family. And my mother is alone, so for her I had to be there too. At the beginning you think you can handle everything, but I passed myself by.''

Mental help

'The Dutch Destroyer' then went on to seek mental health help. "This was the first time I couldn't solve things. I was out of control and then you notice that you can't get out of it with your own thoughts either. I got completely stuck and just lay awake. Thinking about the future. What is to become of this and that? You rush yourself: I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to go here, I have to go there, I have to help this one and that one. That was very tough. I was tired whole days.''

"At the beginning, I didn't want to hear it when people said, think of yourself," he continues. "I couldn't do that for a while. When you're in the middle of it, you start seeing it as something normal. Until someone takes you out. Then you are confronted with your own shortcomings. Sometimes you have to say: not right now. Instead of being there for everyone all day. But that's easier said than done when it comes to family. Now I know: it doesn't all have to come down to me. Not at first either, but that's what I thought.''

"In May, the situation was at its most intense and I noticed that I was tangled up with myself and my negative thoughts. I was going to tournaments, but I didn't want to be there. You keep throwing, you lose, your confidence goes down and you don't have time to train either. But I'm not the best in the world, so I have to keep working hard. Can't do that? Then you stay in that downward spiral.''

Despite the difficult period, Van der Voort could always count on the support of his sponsors. "They said: don't let everything depend on one year. Quitting would be the easiest thing, then there would be no more pressure. But that didn't feel right. They thought I was looking for an excuse to quit. Then I want to prove them wrong again and say goodbye with dignity. Next year I really want to try again. Is it no longer there? Then it stops.

Support from Michael van Gerwen

Van der Voort has been good friends with Michael van Gerwen for years. "He doesn't want to hear that I'm thinking about quitting. He was the only one (from the darts circuit, ed.) with whom I discussed this. The rest don't give a damn. You are competitors of each other and it is beneficial to others if I don't do well. Michael is my friend. And my opposite. Michael is there for Michael. Everything has to give way to the path he's on. That's what I admire about him. Sometimes I wish I was like that too. As a good friend, I have a lot of support from him. That's all I expect. This is a medical thing. He can do a lot, but not solve this.''

And Van der Voort hasn't quite given up hope for World Championship participation this year after all. "One advantage: I play on Monday against players who were as bad as me this year. The four least bad players get to go to the World Championship. Hopefully I'm one of them.''