Niels Zonneveld he couldn’t win Robert Owen in the first round of 2025 PDC World Darts Championships on Monday evening. The Dutch darter started successfully, but ultimately lost in sets 3-1.
“Obviously, I’m incredibly gutted,” Zonneveld said later during a news conference. “I didn’t even throw super bad in my opinion, but there were moments that were just in his favor and then I just failed.”
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According to Zonneveld, the loss had nothing to do with nerves. “I was nervous before, but now I had the idea that ‘we will face it and do everything we can to overcome it’. But yeah, it didn’t work out and I can’t blame the nerves. “
On paper, Owen was one of the toughest opponents Zonneveld could face. The Welshman was the last player to reach the World Darts Championship via the Pro Tour circuit, but as Jeffrey de Graaf qualified on both the Scandinavian tour and the Pro Tour, Owen was included in the international qualifiers.
“I just think Robert Owen is a good player,” admitted Zonneveld. He showed it too, he does good things in good moments. I just had to be sharp, and on my gut I was. The preparations went well, as did the preparations for London. I can’t blame myself for that. In the end, I didn’t reward myself on stage.”
This defeat therefore also means that Zonneveld once again failed to survive Christmas at the World Darts Championships. “Triple Z” does not plan to completely distance himself from the tournament in the coming weeks. “I will still turn on the darts at home, but I will be sitting in front of the subway with a bitter feeling,” said Zonneveld, who managed to retain his Tour Card for the first time after two seasons.
