"I was maybe overconfident, but I faked it a little bit": Jimmy van Schie finally achieves potential as top seed with mindset shift

With a very convincing and confident victory over Shane McGuirk – until this week still unbeaten on the iconic Lakeside stage – Jimmy van Schie secured himself a spot in the semi-finals of the WDF World Championship.

The Dutchman was beaming immediately afterwards, and for good reason: his 4–1 victory not only broke McGuirk’s impressive streak of nine consecutive Lakeside victories, but also confirmed that Van Schie is ready to take a shot at the world title. The 32-year-old Dutchman is still two wins away from supreme triumph.

"I'm very happy with the win against Shane. Although he didn't play his A-game, I knew what I had to do and I took my chances when I needed to, and yeah, I'm over the moon."

Those who followed the match saw how both players bombarded each other back and forth with high scores. McGuirk regularly came up with 180s, but Van Schie countered almost immediately. Crucially, he proved to be the sharpest in the decisive moments.

"He was hitting the 180s, I was hitting them back, but in the important moments I think I hit a few more to put him under big pressure as well. And then the 120 was a key moment, a few doubles as well. I can't remember all of them, but I know I finished on point."

Although Van Schie noted that McGuirk was not at his absolute best, statistically the match was still a high-level contest, with both players averaging in the high 90s. That made the duel intense and attractive to watch — but what was it like to be in it?

"For most of the game I was in front, so I enjoyed most of it. But when I was behind, I needed to fight back. I know Shane very well — we've played multiple times against each other and I've seen him throw 111, 110 averages, so I know he's capable of that. I was prepared for that, and also his checkouts — he can check out anything when he's under pressure as well, and he's shown that this week. So it's always tough to play against Shane. So yeah, I'm very happy that I won this game."

The past year has been one of development, growth and trial and error for Van Schie. The Dutchman emphasises that those lesser moments were indispensable in shaping his current form.

"To be a good winner, you have to be a good loser as well. I've had some painful losses. I don't want to name every loss I've had, but they're still in my mind. You have to learn from it and go on. To be a good winner, you have to be a good loser — that's all I can say."

The defeat against Jarno Bottenberg last year counts as an important learning moment for him. "Last year against Jarno I was maybe overconfident, but I faked it a little bit. I lost that game, but then I learned from it. Now I always fancy myself winning games because I know what I can do, and I've proven it tonight by beating Shane. Although he wasn't at his best, I had to do what I had to do — and I did it. So I'm very pleased and I want to see what's next."

A familiar opponent awaits in the semi-finals: a Belgian with whom Van Schie has shared the oche before. Despite their geographical proximity, the pair do not practise together. Still, Van Schie is visibly confident.

"I know my opponent very well actually, because we don't live far from each other. We see each other at multiple tournaments as well. He's from Belgium, I'm from the Netherlands, so we meet each other a few times. To be honest, I've never lost against him, so I fancy my chances."

And on the question of practice partners: "No, I don't. He lives too far for that. I know him very well, but I'm always confident — also against Sybren."