Jeffrey de Graaf won his first ever match in Alexandra Palace and will now face José de Sousa in the second round.
After five years away from the biggest stage at Alexandra Palace, Jeffrey de Graaf made his comeback to the Ally Pally in the first round of the World Darts Championship 2024 qualifying through the Nordic and Baltic Pro Tour.
Having tried to lose twice in the first round in 2017 and 2019, third time was a charm for Jeffrey de Graaf who won by 3-2 against Ritchie Edhouse.
“It felt really good to be back, I have been waiting a long time for a return,” Jeffrey de Graaf told pdc-nordic.tv.
However, at one point, Jeffrey de Graaf thought the outcome of the match would be just like the other two times at the stage in the Palace.
“When he hit the double 18 on his 94 score (and left one match dart for tops), I thought it would have been over, since he had not missed any dart before on the double. But other than that moment, I always believed I could win the match.”
Jeffrey de Graaf now have to go up against 25. seeded José de Sousa in the second round, and he will go into the match with some confidence.
“I believe that I’m going to get a good chance against him since he has not shown his best form lately. And with the game I played against Edhouse, I will probably get chances, and if I take them I can definently win the game.”
“José de Sousa is a top 32 player, so he is a great player with a high standard, but like I said, if he is not going to bring it, there will be chances for me to win it.”
And even though Jeffrey de Graaf know José de Sousa is a seeded player, he will not go into the match with other than the biggest ambition of them all.
“My goal for every game is to win. That does not change whoever my opponent is. I never go into a game with the idea of losing.“