DIRK ADMITS CONFIDENCE CRISIS AFTER OCHE STRUGGLES
27/09/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
DIRK VAN DUIJVENBODE has admitted his confidence is on the floor despite moving into round two of the Swiss Darts Trophy.
World No. 32 Van Duijvenbode beat Jitse van der Wal 6-2 in his opener but averaged just 89.79 — though he was sharp on the outer ring, nailing six of his ten doubles and producing a classy 125 checkout.
‘The Aubergenius’ sets up a second-round clash with fellow countryman Gian van Veen on Saturday in the St. Jakobshalle Arena.
Van Duijvenbode revealed he is battling self-doubt after a poor run of form.
He said: “The ProTour’s before as well I felt like I was playing great and then I had such bad results and such bad averages.
“You start doubting and start trying to sweep things.
“It helped at some point but that was very bad. I know how I practice. It’s not like I practice very well and I drop my level on stage.
“My practice is very bad as well and I am just in doubt at the moment.
“I need to fix that as quick as possible. Hopefully I can do that before tomorrow. We have three hours of practice before the game.”
The Dutchman crashed out of the Hungarian Darts Trophy last week, suffering a 6-5 defeat to Tom Bissell in round one with a disappointing 83.44 average.
Van Duijvenbode has failed to get past the second round in his last five Euro Tour events and has also endured a barren spell in the majors — failing to reach a single quarter-final in three attempts.
The 33-year-old says last week’s struggles still weigh heavy on him.
He added: “A win obviously helps a little bit. I was very frustrated with the loss last week and the way I played.
“Sometimes you shouldn’t worry too much after one game, but I was worried a lot because I have never dropped that low in my average.
“That made me very worried because of that you get another one like that. I need to leave it behind, it’s all over and I should be good for tomorrow.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
