"I believe I can win the World Championship" - Jitse Van der Wal puts prior ProTour experience behind him ahead of Lakeside quest
WDF
Jitse Van der Wal is making a highly anticipated return to darts just 10 months after walking away from Q-School. He is full of confidence and belief ahead of the WDF World Championship, believing that he has what it takes to win the title.
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It has been quite a few years for the Dutchman. He secured his PDC Tour Card back in 2024 before losing it two years later. His intentions were to go to European Q-School to try and win it back, and made the final stage before pulling out two days into it.
This came as a surprise to many, but he cleared the air with mental exhaustion and a lack of confidence from that period on the ProTour had taken its toll, and he has since taken a backseat from proceedings.
Now, he is back on the oche, and already making an impact. Last Sunday, he won the last-chance qualifier at the Lakeside Country Club in hugely impressive fashion. Dropping just three legs all day, he turned heads when averaging over 105 in his last-16 clash before confirming his spot in the iconic tournament with a 6-0 whitewash victory against Kevin Cottiss.
Reset after botched ProTour experience
Van der Wal made the trip back from Frimley Green to Dutch soil, seemingly tired but proud and satisfied with his day's work. “I feel good, a bit tired of the trip of course. But I really feel very good. It is actually quite unexpected,” he told RTV NOF.
'The Frisian Viking' will debut at the WDF World Championship, a lifelong dream that is set to come true sooner rather than later. “It has always been a childhood dream of mine to stand on that podium. I wanted to try it a few years ago as well, but then I unexpectedly got my Tour Card.”
That period with his Tour Card may have not gone to plan, but he has learned a lot of new lessons and is now well equipped ahead of the big tournament. “That was of course also a very nice experience, but I have now focused a little more on the WDF to be at Lakeside. It's just that it has now gone a little faster than originally intended.”
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Jitse Van der Wal is set to make a return to darts
It is clear that Van der Wal puts his own mental health ahead of darts, prioritising his own wellbeing. That was showcased at the start of 2026. “I said at the time: that’s it, now I need to think about myself first. Perhaps I didn’t do that quite enough," he stated.
Taking therapy, he took out more time for himself and is now reaping the rewards. “There wasn't much room for that on the ProTour. There wasn't really any time to catch your breath there," he commented.
"I'm very grateful that I've already experienced that and I definitely want to go back. But before I go there again, I want to be better prepared. I got my tour card unexpectedly, which was wonderful of course. But I do think you have to consistently throw between 90 and 95 averages to make it. With an 85 average you can get a tour card, but after that you have to be able to keep up. That's underestimated by a lot of people."
Ruling out Q-School return in 2027
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Van der Wal's short term plans are clear. “I will not go to the Q-School in January, because I really want to leave the PDC alone for at least another year. I want to develop myself further at the WDF and also finish my own mental affairs to the full one hundred percent.”
He owns a business which offers dart coaching and selling second-hand equipment. It puts him in the perfect practice environment where he can work on his game. “Before, it was just throwing a few games and throwing some darts at the board, but now I really train with different equipment.”
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The WDF World Championship will take place from November 27 - December 6. Only two players will be left in the tournament on that final day, and Van der Wal is thinking that he could be at the business end lifting the title. “It doesn't really matter to me that much. I believe I can win the World Championship," he said.
"I believe I can win it, but if I don't succeed, it's not the end of the world. My dream was to be there once and I've already achieved that. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll get very far and otherwise I'll just try again next year."
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Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026