Danny Noppert about clash in Amsterdam with Van Duijvenbode: ‘I think Dirk is more popular than me’ | Darts

“I’ve got it again,” thought Noppert when he saw the draw. He was paired with Van Duijvenbode in the first round, with whom he formed the Dutch team at the World Cup of Darts in June. “I often draw against Dutch people, so I would have liked a different draw, but that’s the way it is. You have to deal with it,” said the darts player from Joure, who would have liked to have hit a foreign opponent first.

“That is also nicer for the public, but unfortunately. It doesn’t matter much to me, because I just want to win every match,” said Noppert, who reached the final in Amsterdam in 2019. He then lost in the final battle to Michael van Gerwen. “This tournament means a lot to me, even though it does not count for the ranking.”

It remains to be seen how much support Noppert will receive from the Dutch public against the man with whom he formed the Dutch team at the World Cup of Darts in June: “I think Dirk is a bit more popular than I am. That also has to do with his rise, of course,” he thinks TheFreeze, who knows that Van Duijvenbode is a crowd favorite, partly because of his walk on hardstyle music. “But we’ll see. I don’t think they will boo me.”

As far as the results are concerned, Noppert can look forward to the Dutch get-together positively. TheFreeze won eight times against Van Duijvenbode in thirteen mutual meetings. “We often don’t play very well against each other. It is often a struggle. We know each other well, so it is always a bit difficult to play against each other. It is a different experience, but you try to put that out of your mind as much as possible. You have to focus mainly on your own game, but that will work, Dirk is not an irritating player.”

Noppert is currently the best Dutchman behind Michael van Gerwen, but Van Duijvenbode has now entered the top 10 and is only one spot behind the Frisian, himself number nine in the PDC Order of Merit. Van Duijvenbode indicated that he is not obsessed with overtaking Noppert. “If he overtakes me, that is quite right, so no, I don’t feel any extra pressure either. Of course you want to show that you are number two in the Netherlands, also in connection with the World Cup of course,” says Noppert.

Van Duijvenbode recently became father of son Levi and Noppert knows better than anyone how positive that impact can be on darts performance. When Noppert became a father himself in 2022, he immediately won the first television tournament a few weeks later. “Everyone deals with it differently, but it gave me very positive feelings at the time. I immediately won the UK Open. I find it harder to leave home now than I did then. Of course, a baby doesn’t understand much yet. I think Dirk is also light-hearted about that,” thinks Noppert, who is expecting a daughter in December. “Then the World Cup is the first television tournament to follow. Well, then I have to win that one too,” he concludes, laughing.