As darts has increased in popularity throughout the world over the past decade, we are seeing more young talent coming through than ever before in the sport. The Netherlands has long been a hotbed for professional darts players and we are seeing the introduction of another star in Niels Zonneveld.  Known as ‘Triple Z’, Zonneveld was born on the 22nd of July 1998 in Uitgeest, a town in the province of North Holland. The Dutchman joined the Professional Darts Corporation in 2019 having attended the European Q-School in the same year, winning his Tour Card on the first day of the event.

Capable of producing an average of over 100, as shown on the PDC Youth/Development Tour 2020 at DT 02 Hildesheim, Zonneveld has already played in some of the biggest events in the PDC. His best achievement to date came at the 2020 Players Championship Finals as Zonneveld defeated the number 6 seed, James Wade, 6-3 in the first round. Zonneveld averaged 94.41 in that match. It was without doubt the upset of the first round and the Dutch prodigy closed out the victory in style with a 122 finish.

Despite the problems faced by everyone in 2020, Zonneveld had a good year in terms of making his debut at major PDC events. In addition to playing in the Players Championship Finals, Zonneveld qualified for the UK Open and the 2021 World Darts Championship. In the UK Open, Zonneveld beat the experienced Andy Hamilton 6-4 in the second round before defeating Mickey Mansell 6-2 in the third round of the competition. Into the fourth round and Zonneveld came up against former world champion Rob Cross and performed well, despite eventually losing the match 10-7.

The first appearance at the PDC World Darts Championship was not as successful but it was an important experience for Zonneveld, who is sure to enjoy plenty of joy at the tournament in future. Could Zonneveld be the first left handed player to win the PDC World Championship?

Walk on Song: Green Day

Hometown: Uitgeest, Netherlands

Career Highlights:

• World Championship 2023 Qualifier
• World Championship 2021-Last 96
• UK Open 2020-Last 64 
• Players Championship Finals 2020-Last 32