- Source: Niels Zonneveld
Niels Zonneveld (born 22 July 1998) is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a current PDC Tour Card holder and is a two-time winner on the PDC Development Tour.
Career
Zonneveld started playing on the PDC Development Tour in 2018, picking up his first title on the tour in only his fourth event where he defeated Joe Davis 5–2 in the final. At the end of the 2018 Development Tour season, he finished 9th on the Order of Merit ranking.
He attended European Q-School in 2019, where he won his PDC Tour Card on Day 1, beating Christian Gödl 5–1 in the final. He made it to the semi finals of the 2020 PDC World Youth Championship but lost to the eventual champion Bradley Brooks 6–1. Zonneveld qualified for the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship through the PDPA Rest of the World Qualifier. This was his debut at the competition. He went out in the first round, being whitewashed by William O'Connor 3–0 in sets.
He qualified for the 2021 World Series of Darts Finals as one of the four Tour Card holder qualifiers, where he had his deepest run at a PDC televised event. He reached the quarter finals, including a 6-4 victory over two-time World Champion Gary Anderson in the second round. His run was ended by Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski.
At the 2022 Belgian Darts Open, Zonneveld upset reigning World Champion Peter Wright in the second round, beating him 6–5. The game became known for Wright's refusal to fist bump Zonneveld before the deciding leg, a gesture common amongst darts players. Zonneveld reflected on the incident on the Double Top podcast in 2024, stating that the close win over Wright was "kind of the ultimate revenge", but explained that Wright apologised afterwards.
Zonneveld earned his first win at the PDC World Darts Championship when he defeated Darren Webster 3–1 in the first round of the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.
World Championship results
= PDC
=2021: First round (lost to William O'Connor 0–3)
2023: First round (lost to Lewy Williams 0–3)
2024: Second round (lost to Ross Smith 1–3)
2025: First round (lost to Robert Owen 1–3)
Performance timeline
PDC European Tour
References
External links
Niels Zonneveld player profile at Darts Orakel