Kevin Doets he certainly didn’t cope on Tuesday afternoon, but he won against his compatriot 3:1 Noa-Lynn van Leuven“Hawkeye” reached the second round on PDC World Darts Championships second year in a row where Michael Smith waiting.
Ahead of the All-Dutch clash, Doets expressed his concerns about the reception Van Leuven would receive on her Ally Pally debut. The latter is transgender and managed to qualify for the 2025 PDC Darts World Championships through the Women’s Series, something some big names in the sport disagree with.
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“I expected a lot of inappropriate behavior from the audience today, but I don’t think I heard a single boo,” Doets said in his press conference after the match then. “I like it because I was doing interviews before the tournament and I thought she would be booed a lot. But they were great, really good.”
Last year, Doets narrowly lost to Michael Smith in the second round of the World Darts Championship in a thrilling match. Coincidentally, “Bullyboy” is now Doets’ opponent again in the last 64 round. Last year, Smith felt the pressure of being the defending world champion, and this year Doets realizes Smith has a lot of pressure on his shoulders again.
“I think yes (he feels pressure), but I also think he doesn’t really care. Of course he cares, but I saw interviews with him where he said: if it happens, it happens, says Doets. “Of course he wants to defend the £500,000 he won two years ago, but I think I’ll see Michael Smith in his friendly on Thursday. He just loves playing darts and is one of the best in the world.”
