VINCE: “I CANNOT DO THIS”

By Aaron Nijjar

VINCENT VAN DER VOORT has admitted that family heartbreak was behind his decision to step away from professional darts. 

The Dutch Destroyer relinquished his PDC Tour Card at the start of the year and called time on a career that spanned three decades.  

Few fans were aware of the real reason behind Vince’s drop in the PDC order of merit in 2024—he was regularly visiting his terminally ill sister, 50, in hospital while also supporting her three children through an incredibly difficult time.  

The former UK Open finalist told Sunsport: “The most important reason I left was in my personal life. 

“Two years ago, my sister was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away in July. 

“Once you get diagnosed with that, then you try everything to get better. It’s sometimes a fight you cannot win.  

“I took a lot of responsibility for that. For her kids, who are between the ages of 12-15. To take care of a lot of stuff.” 

He added: “I underestimated that and what it does to you. To your head, your life and your mindset. In the beginning, I thought: ‘I can do that – when I’m playing a tournament, I can park that’. 

“But at one point, I noticed that I couldn’t concentrate anymore. The further you go, you lose your confidence and you don’t want to be there anymore.” 

Last summer, the 49-year-old received a phone call that would alter the course of his life and speed up his exit from the PDC circuit.  

The two-time World Championship quarter-finalist said: “I was going to ProTours, then coming back to the hospital every day, sitting there with my sister. 

“I was invited to Holland versus France at the European Championships. I was there and then I got a call: ‘You have to come back’. So my wife drove to Leipzig. 

“We drove back in the middle of the night. Then I had my last conversation with my sister. But a week later, you have to go to the ProTours again. And you have to perform. At one point, I noticed: ‘I cannot do this’.  

“Once you mention something like this, there are always people who say: ‘Oh, he’s looking for an excuse or something’. Life can be very hard and very confronting. 

“I know I have a big mouth. I say whatever I want and say how I see it. But this is something you cannot prepare for.” 

Van der Voort will play this year on the MODUS Super Series.  

On Thursday evening, he takes on Neil Duff in the opening round of the four-day BetGoodwin World Seniors Darts Championship at the Circus Tavern in Essex. 

However, the Dutchman believes he is not the favourite to win the title. 

He said: “I don’t think I’m the favourite for the World Seniors. There are plenty of good players in it. The likes of Simon Whitlock, Mervyn King, Steve Beaton and John Henderson. 

“I haven’t played a tournament in three months. I’m playing someone who is a really good player. He’s playing every week. I have to get fully focused and prepare myself as best as I can. 

“Hopefully I’ll miss that feeling of competing and want to be better than somebody else. “If during the year the hunger doesn’t come back to perform, I’ll quit. But if it comes back, then I’ll give it a go. I’m 49. I don’t think I’m too old.”  

Image by Getty Images.