The festive season...
Happy Birthday, Vincent van der Voort!
Birthday: 18. December 1975Lives in: Pumerend, Netherlands
Born in: Pumerend, Netherlands
Nickname: The Dutch Destroyer
Darts: 23 g Winmau Signature
Walk-on Music: Give it Up (K.C. & The Sunshine Band)
Dutchman Vincent van der Voort started to play darts when he was ten years old and in 1991 won the WDF Europea Cup Youth. His first seniors win he celebrated in 2002 at the Danish Open which he won again in 2006. Van der Voort won some more titles on the BDO/WDF Circuit, was a member of the Dutch national team for many years and took part from 2002 - 2007 in the BDO World Championship. His best result were the quarterfinals in 2005 where he lost to Raymond van Barneveld.
In those times at the beginning of the year after the BDO World Championship regularily players switched from the BDO to the PDC and in 2007 Vincent van der Voort was one of them. He switched together with Jelle Klaasen, BDO World Champion 2006, the at this time talked about as some kind of sensationell teenager to be Michael van Gerwen and Mervyn King. The four players had the same sponsor - a kitchen producer - and due to this sometimes were called "kitchen boys". There even existed somer funny commercials in which the sponsor somehow combinded kitchens and darts.
I saw all four players early in spring 2007 in London where they took part in some UK Open Qualifiers. Those were then open for everybody to watch - there usually was only a very, very small crowd - and played in some pubs. At this time van Gerwen was the most unobstrusive and least dangerous of the four while van der Voort and King looked like they would have no problems to fit into the PDC and would be a danger to many of the players.
And rather astonishing I turned out to be right...Vincent van der Voort reached the final of this UK Open and lost to Raymond van Bearneveld. Due to this success - which was his biggest in all his years in the PDC - van der Voort moved into the Top 20 of the Order of Merit. In the following year he reached the UK Open semi-finals, 2014 the semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals. In all other Majores he never got further then the quarterfinals. He reached that placing in the PDC World Championship 2011 and 2015. But all in all he was so successfull to stay among the Top 32 for a rather long time. 2009 he lost in the group phase of the Grand Slam of Darts to Anastasia Dobromyslova . I am sure that haunted him for some time.
Over the years van der Voort won some Players Championships and a single European Tour Event. Since 2016 he experienced a lot of hurtful back problems, slided down the rankings and already talked about ending his career. When it just looked he had recovered Covid 19 hit and he missed the PDC World Championship 2022 due to a positive Covid test.
That to a certain degree was van der Voorts end in the PDC, the back problems returned , he lost his motivation and the Dutchman didn't manage to qualify for either the World Championship 2023/24 nor 2024/25 and now will lose his Tour Card.
As one heard recently he will not completely withdraw from darts - the popular Dutchman announced he will take part in the World Seniors Darts Championship 2025. After six BDO World Championships and sixteen PDC World Championships the first World Seniors World Championship will follow - van der Voort's 23. World Championship.
Van der Voort's throwing style is the contrary of Paul Lim's rather slow and deliberate style. He was always known for a very fast , alomost rushed throw, which looks not really well controlled. As long all is going well it worked, the problems starts when it not goes well.
On the 18. December van der Voort celebrates his 49. Birthday. Happy Birthday, Vincent!