Photo: PDC

Jeffrey de Graaf will be back on the stage at Ally Pally this evening, as he will be facing Rashad Sweeting from Bahamas. The Dutch-born Swede feels confident before the first round game.

It is time for the third day of the World Darts Championships 2024/2025 in London. We have already seen some upsets in the first two days and it will be exciting to see the further development of the tournament in the coming days.

Today also marks the day for the first matches with players from the Nordic and Baltic region as Darius Labanauskas and Jeffrey de Graaf will be taking the stage in each separate session today.

For Jeffrey de Graaf it is good to be back in London for the big event.

“This is the tournament you want to be in at the end of the year. You are playing all year to qualify for this tournament, so I am very happy that I succeeded,” Jeffrey de Graaf tells pdc-nordic.tv.

“I will take on game at a time, but I also know that if I play what I can and can continue the form from the last couple of tournaments, then the first match shouldn’t be that much of a problem. But on the other side I also feel like the second round (against Gary Anderson) is going to be a tough job. Of course you always want to get as far as possible, the ambition is always to get as close as possible to the trophy, but it is not for everyone – and I know that as well.”

And even though Jeffrey de Graaf feels confident before going up against Rashad Sweeting from Bahamas, he is not going to take the match lightly.

“You need to stay focused and just focus on yourself, because there is so much pressure on you in the World Championships, so you need to focus on your own game. We have already seen some of the big names who are not playing how they usually do in their first round match, so you really need to focus on yourself and try to ignore the pressure. Of course I could have had a worse draw, but I still need to play my game, and I need to do my best to win.”

With the 2024 season coming to an end Jeffrey de Graaf has a bit of a ambivalent feeling about his results in his first year back as a Tour Card holder.

“I set myself some goals at the start of the season for the Nordic and Baltic Pro Tour and also goals about qualifying for the Players Championship Finals and the World Championships through the Pro Tour and those things I succeeded. I got to a final at a Players Championship event and have never done that before, but on the other hand I also lost 18 times out of 30 in the first round, and that is way to much, so im not happy with that statistic, so that needs to be better. I did not play that many events on the European Tour, so I want to qualify for more of them as well. So one hand I am happy, because I succeeded with my goals, but on the other hand it has not been consistent enough for me.”

Jeffrey de Graaf made his debut at the World Cup of Darts this season as well, and he has that at the very top of his list of good moments in 2024.

“I really enjoyed the World Cup of Darts, it was a great experience, so I think that is the highlight in 2024 for me. Of course I was also happy about winning some matches in the Players Championship Finals, so that is also some great moments, but I would say that the World Cup of Darts has been the top moment. It is more fun to share that joy with someone else. You are there as a team, so you travel together and you are winning together so it is more fun. Of course I am traveling with friends for other tournaments, but when you play together and win together it is more fun.”

And when the World Championships have finished in January, the calendar are already showing 2025 and therefore a new season ahead.

“I want to keep my Tour Card, that is the main goal for 2025. And then I want to qualify for the Players Championship Finals and the World Championships again, otherwise it will probably be difficult to keep my Tour Card anyway.”

“I am probably going to miss the first four Players Championship events and some of the first European qualifiers because im going to be a father next year. So I will miss a little bit, but after the birth of my child I will be aiming for a more consistent year on the tour.”