"I have to believe I can win this tournament" - Dennis Nilsson growing in confidence on the Lakeside stage

Dennis Nilsson has qualified for the second round of the WDF World Championship at Lakeside. The 47-year-old Swede defeated a below-par Jordan Brooks 2-0 in his opening match.

Nilsson was not entirely satisfied despite the win. "I know it's not my best. It's not Jordan's best either but we tried to do a good game but in the end, I won," he tells Tungsten Tales post-match. "I tried to not think about it but I can do much, much better and I'll try my very best in every game."

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'Strongman' competed at the BDO World Championship in 2017 and 2018, but went down quickly each time. "To be here is fantastic. This venue, this hotel, everything is fantastic. Every big darts player starts here so I'm very happy to be here for a third time. Hopefully I can go on for longer than in the years before."

With Edwin Torbj¨örnsson, Ricky Nauman and Anna Forsmark, there are three more Swedes competing at Lakeside this year. "That's great for Swedish darts, the association also supports us and then you see the result. We all push each other to better performances."

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Nilsson has already come to Lakeside with high expectations. "I have to believe I can win this tournament. I have to, because I'm practicing good but this is a very hard tournament to win," Nilsson assesses. "Very good players here, so I'll do my best and I won this game today. I think I can do something good."

Nilsson will take on fourth-seeded Englishman James Hurrell in the second round on Monday night. The winner of that game will meet the winner of the Dutch friendly between Arjan Konterman and Alexander Merckx in the third round.

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