Niels Zonneveld qualified for the third round of the Darts World Cup on Saturday evening. In London’s Alexandra Palace, the 27-year-old darts player from Helvoirt was 3-1 too strong for Michael Smith, the 2023 world champion.
Zonneveld participated in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship four times before, but only won one match. His goal was to change that in this fifth World Cup for him and he succeeded. In the first round, the Helvoir native was convincingly too strong against the New Zealander Haupai Puha, 3-0.
Michael Smith faced him on Saturday evening, although in terms of level the Englishman is no longer the Smith who won the world title in 2023. Zonneveld took the first set in a packed room, after which the Englishman returned. The Brabander then struck in the third and fourth set: 3-1. This puts him in the third round, unique for Zonneveld.
Michael van Gerwen can become the second Brabander in the third round. De Vlijmenaar darts against William O’Connor on Tuesday, December 23.