Wesley Plaisier is one of the big surprises at the Darts World Championship. The Dutchman also has a lot to do professionally.
When the decisive dart stuck in the board, Wesley Plaisier wasn’t quite sure how to react. So he took a deep breath, leaned on his thighs with his arms, and then held his hands behind his head, almost incredulous.
On Saturday, the 35-year-old can continue to write his fairy tale against Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in Alexandra Palace in London – well rested from a trip to his Dutch homeland over Christmas.
“It will be the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I will enjoy it very much,” Plaisier had already announced in advance.
Darts World Championship: Plaisier “Floating on Clouds”
Rested, the next victory should follow. “Ratajski is a good player – but if you beat Gerwyn Price, you can beat anyone,” said the surprise man.
Because hardly anyone really believed in this outcome before the match against Price. Before the tournament, Plaisier was number 92 in the Order of Merit with prize money of 33,500 pounds earned in the past two years.
To finance his life, the sensational winner therefore still has a normal job – unlike many of his competitors.
“I still work as a forklift driver,” he revealed after the coup at the press conference. “My employer is super cooperative. I can go anywhere for darts. Otherwise, I work normally.”
Training at home must therefore be completed before or after his shifts.
Plaisier works as a forklift driver
However, Plaisier may soon make the leap to becoming a true professional. By reaching round three, he now gets an additional 35,000 pounds in one go.
With a little luck, the giant will already jump into the top 70 – but if Plaisier continues to play like this, he should go much further up.
In the first round, he confidently defeated the German Lukas Wenig 3:1. Then the darting giant significantly improved against Price. An average of 94.28 points, along with an outstanding 56 percent double-out rate, was enough for the big surprise.
“This is the biggest victory ever”
In an interview with SPORT1 , he said: “This is the biggest victory ever. I wanted to get the first leg as quickly as possible. Then I won the first set. That was the best thing that could have happened to me.”
Even some time after the match, Plaisier still had trouble finding the right words. “I almost have no words for this victory. I’m floating on clouds,” he described his emotional state.
Because the big darts stages in the world are definitely not everyday life for the man who still doesn’t have a darts nickname.
Only at the end of 2024 did he earn his Tour Card via the PDC Challenge Tour rankings. Before that, he had failed for many years at the Q-School.
Plaisier wants to reach the top of the darts world
His plans therefore remain cautious for now. “My biggest goal: reach the Top 64 and keep the Tour Card,” said Plaisier.
But that should only be the beginning: “After that, step by step – Top 32, Top 16. You never know what a year brings.”
If the Dutchman continues to play at the World Championship as he did against Price, these steps could be achieved much faster than planned.