'I’ve got different words in my head, but I can’t say them!': Dirk van Duijvenbode laments poor display despite win

Dirk van Duijvenbode qualified for the second round of the Flanders Darts Trophy on Friday evening. The 33-year-old 'Aubergenius' won 6-2 against Jeffrey de Graaf, who now plays under the Swedish flag, at the Antwerp Expo.

Van Duijvenbode got off to a flying start in his opening match. After a 15-darter, he immediately followed up with a fine 118 finish to quickly take a 2-0 lead. De Graaf fought back with a 14-darter, but then saw his compatriot strike again with a 96 finish: 3-1.

In the fifth leg, Van Duijvenbode missed two chances to extend his lead, allowing De Graaf to come back to 3-2. From that moment on, however, he resolutely took control. With a 16-darter, he restored his lead and reached match point with a 70 finish. He finished it off in style: a 122 finish sealed the 6-2 victory.

With an average of 97 and six doubles out of nine attempts, Van Duijvenbode showed that he is in good form, even though he himself was not entirely satisfied. “It didn’t always feel great, but at some points I had some very good things finishing-wise and sometimes also scoring-wise,” he said. “But yeah, when I had to take it sometimes, I didn’t do it. Like in the last leg – my first three scores were absolutely very bad. I’ve got different words in my head, but I can’t say them!”

Despite the shaky start in that final leg, Van Duijvenbode showed his trademark resilience. “In the end you recover with a 128 and a 122, so that gives you confidence. Even though when you’re playing bad, you can still recover by doing these things. So yeah, it’s satisfying.”

The Dutchman now turns his attention to a second-round clash with fellow countryman Danny Noppert – a tie that history suggests will be close.

“The stats don’t lie, do they?” Van Duijvenbode said. “Me and Danny, I think we’ve always been very close to each other in terms of results and also in terms of our level of game. Obviously now I’m way lower than him in the rankings, but hopefully tomorrow I’ll play a good game.”

With their past meetings often going down to the wire, Van Duijvenbode is expecting another tight battle but remains upbeat: “I think it’s going to be a good game.”