Heartbreaking moment darts wonderkid left in floods of tears after missing chance to follow in Luke Littler’s footsteps
DARTS wonderkid Jurjen van der Velde was left devastated after missing out on becoming the World Youth Champion.
Van der Velde, 21, narrowly missed out on the title after losing 6-5 to fellow Dutchman Gian van Veen at Butlin’s Minehead Resort.
Van der Velde was fighting back the tears on the oche after missing five match darts to give up the title and miss out on a hefty share of the £100,000 prize pot.
The right-handed tungsten thrower was in the driving seat for much of the face-off but couldn’t get himself over the line and follow in the footsteps of some of darts’ best players.
Luke Littler was the youngster who won last year’s Youth Championship, securing a place at the World Championship as a result and kickstarting his meteoric rise to World No.5.
Other previous winners include the likes of Michael Smith and Luke Humphries who have both gone on to win the World Championship since their youth level success.
Van der Velde was clearly upset at the reality of missing out on joining that list of former champions and let out a few tears in front of the crowd at Minehead.
Opponent Van Veen offered him a shoulder and some support as he comforted his compatriot at the oche instead of celebrating his own success.
The star was lauded as “classy” and “humble” on social media thanks to his kindhearted reaction to his opponent’s tears.
And he even went as far as saying that Van der Velde was deserving of the victory in his post-match interview.
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The 22-year-old, who lost to Littler’s in last year’s final, said: “I stole it today.
“Jurjen played fantastic darts and he kept me under pressure for the whole match.
“He deserved to be the winner today – I feel for him, but he missed his chances and I took mine.”
Van der Velde’s defeat also means he hasn’t secured qualification for the World Championship and will now need to head to Wigan this week to try and earn a spot in the prestigious competition through qualification.
And Van Veen, who had already earned his spot at the Worlds, was sympathetic with Van der Velde’s position.
He added: “No [it’s not a nice feeling to lose], and I think he even feels more heartbroken today than I felt last year.
“Last year I knew I was qualified for the World Championship and it was only my first year as a Tour card holder.
“But, for him, he still has to qualify for the World Championship so he needs to go to Wigan tomorrow for the World Championship qualifiers.
“If he had hit just one of those match darts he wouldn’t have to go to Wigan and maybe there was a chance he could have saved his Tour card.
“I’m heartbroken for him, but it’s a cruel sport and you only have to think about yourself. I’m happy with this win but I just have mixed feelings”.