Van der Voort took the decision to temporarily retire as a professional darts player at the beginning of this year. The loss of his sister in the summer of 2024 had a heavy impact and the darts player suffered a lot from physical problems.
Demonstration competitions are decisive
He made the decision to retire permanently last week after throwing several demonstration games. “I just noticed that the pain quickly returned from my back, knees and neck, even though I had had a lot of rest. Then you see if you can handle it a bit again, but I no longer feel like continuing to play with pain,” he says.
The gout, which suffered a lot from Van der Voort, has improved a lot due to medication, but pain-free throwing is definitely no longer an option, as it turns out after last week. “I had hoped to be able to come back, but apparently the body is too rickety. I am of course two meters and if you really want to stand at attention, you have a strange twist at your hip and it locks every time. So you cannot stand normally.”
Van der Voort retires after forty years
The ex-professional wanted to see how he was doing at the demonstration matches and during those days he was already sure that his career was definitely over. “I told my wife and Michael van Gerwen, who was also with me. He saw how much pain I was in. He thinks it’s a shame, of course, but that’s the way it is. That’s how it is.”
“It’s not the easiest decision, I’ve done it all my life. You’ve been doing it for forty years and I’m used to being under pressure and playing matches. The realization that I have finally stopped may still have to sink in a bit, but I have made peace with it,” he concludes.
The UK Open final in 2007 was one of the highlights for Van der Voort
Van der Voort switched from darts association BDO to the PDC with Van Gerwen and Jelle Klaasen in 2007. On his debut at a televised tournament that same year, he reached the final of the UK Open, where he lost to Raymond van Barneveld.
The Purmerend participated in the Darts World Championship sixteen times in total, reaching the quarter-finals twice. He calls the best moment in his career the win of the Euro Tour tournament (Austrian Darts Open) in 2014.