"Wonder how long I can keep this up" - Jules van Dongen calls for financial changes on Pro Tour

Jules van Dongen lost his PDC Tour Card late last year. At Q-School early this year, however, he recaptured it immediately. Still, it is not all going smoothly for the Dutch American.

Van Dongen is having a particularly difficult year. He has earned only 3,000 pounds and is currently in a lowly 147th in the PDC Order of Merit. Recently, he even decided to take a break because he is struggling with a serious dip in form.

The 34-year-old darter is also finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet financially. "For the top players it's very good financially at the PDC, but for the bottom players on the rankings much less so," Van Dongen told the podcast 'Double Top'. "They often talk at the PDC about professionalizing the sport, but the number 64 in the world, say the median of the 128 players on the Pro Tour, barely earns £37,000 gross a year. Most players give half of their prize money to their management, then they don't have to pay for travel and hotels themselves. I do know from experience that the higher you are in the world rankings, the lower that percentage becomes than you give off to your management."

Van Dongen then makes the comparison with an "ordinary" employee in the Netherlands. "The minimum wage in a 40-hour workweek is 27000 euros gross in the Netherlands. So the average player on the Pro Tour barely earns more and often even less. So you have to work at it, it can hardly be otherwise. The idea to play midweek Players Championship to further professionalize is not really true. I know many players who even have to take unpaid leave now."

"An ordinary employee signs a contract and gets a lot in return, in addition to a salary often a car, holiday pay, thirteenth month, extra training, pension plan, health insurance and so on. At the PDC you also sign a contract but all you get in return is a dream that one day you will get to the top. It's the reason I'm doing this too, chasing my dream of getting to the top someday. But realistically I do wonder how long that is achievable."

Van Dongen therefore advocates change. "Instead of 1000 euros for a match win, the PDC would be better off giving 250 euros starting money to each player, just to cover costs. Now it only increases the pressure on players to win a match to avoid losing financially."

"I find it especially difficult that they only ask the top players for their opinion, they never ask me anything. I'm especially lucky that my wife supports me and that she has a very good job, that's why I was able to give up my job three years ago to put everything on darts. Realistically, however, it is currently a sport for the top 32 in the world."

"I have not been working for three years now, nor have I been building up a pension. In the USA you have to save for your own retirement and with me nothing has been coming in for some time. It makes me doubt the future," Van Dongen concludes.