DARTS ACE RAGES AT PDC OVER NOPPERT SNUB

DANNY NOPPERT’S Premier League snub has been branded a “disgrace” by Vincent van der Voort.

World No10 Noppert enjoyed a hugely consistent season, reaching the semi-finals of FOUR major events and making a final on the European Tour.

But the Dutchman was not selected to feature in the weekly invitational tournament, a decision which has sparked anger behind the scenes.

Former pro Van der Voort pulled no punches as he slammed the PDC for overlooking ‘The Freeze’ once again.

He said on the Darts Draait Door podcast: “If you think about it all week… That doesn’t exactly improve my mood.

“You end up thinking it’s a disgrace. It’s actually a disgrace that he’s not there.

“But when you see how little fuss there is about it, you see that everyone is actually used to the organisation [PDC] making ridiculous decisions.

“That it’s just considered a few idiots doing whatever they want. That’s what it comes down to.

“You hope it’s about the sporting aspect, not about who fits the bill best. So this is another mistake, and that’s a shame.

“The PDC can do whatever they want.

“They have the players where they want them. Everyone is terrified of saying anything negative, otherwise you won’t be invited to anything anymore.

“They only think about their showpieces and don’t care about anything else.”

Pundit Damian Vlottes believes the situation has become depressingly familiar for the former UK Open winner.

He added: “Danny Noppert, for the fourth time in his career, the fourth in a row, has to watch someone lower on the world rankings get invited ahead of him.”

Noppert was included for the upcoming World Series events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

However, Van der Voort dismissed those invitations as little more than a hollow consolation.

He continued: “If that’s a way to make up for it… Then I’d say: stick it somewhere I can’t see it.

“The Premier League carries a bit more weight. With sponsorship. With bonuses. With commerce. They really don’t compare.”

‘The Dutch Destroyer’ believes Gary Anderson was also worthy of a Premier League call-up, but feels the Scot ultimately harmed his chances through repeated public comments expressing a lack of interest in taking part.

Van der Voort suggested that personal egos may be influencing decision-making at the highest level of the sport.

He explained: “We’ve noticed throughout the year that Matt Porter has quite an ego too.

“Then he thinks: I’m not giving him that.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.