Jelle Klaasen

Darts player infobox
playername = Jelle Klaasen


fullname =
nickname = The Young Matador
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1984|10|17
cityofbirth = Alphen
countryofbirth = The Netherlands
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
hometown = Breda
homecountry = The Netherlands
since = 2003
darts = Jelle Klaasen 23 gram
BDO = 2003 to January 2007
PDC = January 2007 to present
currentrank = 41
BDO World = Winner 2006
World Masters = Qualifying rounds 2005, 2006
World Darts Trophy = 2nd round 2007
Int. Darts League = 2nd group stage 2006
PDC World = Last 64, 2008
Matchplay =
Grand Prix =
UK Open = Last 32, 2007
Vegas = Last 16, 2008
Premier League =
Grand Slam = Quarter-final 2007
tournament = John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic
resultyears = 2007
achievement = 2006 - Youngest ever winner World Championship
updated = February 17, 2008

Jelle Klaasen (born 17 October, 1984) is the youngest ever to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is Young Matador and he currently resides in Alphen, North Brabant, Netherlands.

World Championship performances

On January 15 2006, he became the youngest ever World Darts Champion, aged 21 years 90 days, when he defeated fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld in the final of the 2006 BDO World Darts Championship by 7 sets to 5. He also beat Shaun Greatbatch and world number one Mervyn King on his way to the final. Before the championship, by many he was said to be a 100-1 outsider to win the title as he did not even have a BDO Tour ranking.

Klaasen returned to the Lakeside to defend his World Title at the 2007 BDO World Darts Championship. Klaasen was unseeded for the event after a poor run of form and was facing the seeded Co Stompe, with eventual winner Martin Adams waiting in round two should he win.

Klaasen became the sixth defending champion to fall at the first hurdle in his title defence with his first round loss to fellow countryman Stompe by three sets to nil. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/6237175.stm] BBC report on 1st round defeat 2007] . Although Klaasen was lower in the rankings at the time, it was considered an upset as Stompe had not won at the Lakeside in the previous four years.

The day after the final it was announced that Klaasen would be defecting to the rival Professional Darts Corporation, alongside two fellow countrymen, Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/6264215.stm BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Darts | Dutch trio defect to PDC circuit ] ] The BDO now plans to take legal action as Jelle has a year left on his current contract. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/6271435.stm BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Darts | Klaasen threatened over PDC move ] ]

BDO Grand Slam events

His first attempt at the Winmau World Masters in 2005 ended with a 2-3 defeat to Irishman Steve McDonald. In 2006 he was seeded 13 but suffered a straight sets defeat in his first match against fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe. He has yet to win a match at the Masters.

As World Champion, he was invited to the 2006 World Darts Trophy in his home country, but lost 0-3 to Tony Eccles in the first round. In 2007 he won in the first round 3-1 of reigning PDC world champion Raymond van Barneveld, shortly after that he lost in the second round of Andy Hamilton.

He also played in the 2006 International Darts League and beat 13-times World Champion Phil Taylor 7-6 in his last group match, but it was not enough to qualify for the knockout stages. He had also beaten Andy Fordham and Dick van Dijk but had lost to Martin Adams, Shaun Greatbatch and Colin Lloyd in his other group matches.

Other tournaments

Klaasen has won some Open events in his native country including the Alkmaar Open, but has yet to clinch a major BDO/WDF Open event. On March 11, 2006 he was runner-up in the Finnish Open, losing in the final to Martin Atkins by 6 sets to 2. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Swiss Open and Denmark Open during 2006.

PDC career

Klaasen didn't make an immediate impact on the PDC circuit, having to start virtually from scratch at 262 in the world rankings. He had to compete at most Pro Tour events (Players Championships and UK Open Regionals) to build his ranking and he reached the quarter-finals of two non-televised Pro Tour events before winning a Players Championship - the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic in November which saw his ranking climb to 49. He only made it into one televised PDC event in the UK during 2007 - the UK Open when he reached the last 32, but his form towards the end of the year ensured that he automatically qualified for the 2008 World Championship - his debut in the PDC version. He lost in the first round to fellow Dutchman Vincent van der Voort.

Outside darts

Before the 2006 World Championships, Klaasen worked for a manpower agency in the Netherlands but he has now taken up darts full-time. He is sponsored by Keukenconcurrent - a company who produce fitted kitchens in his home country.He also won the Killarney Darts Festival on the 7th of November where he beat Vincent Van Der Voort 3-2.

References

External links

* [http://jelleklaasen.nl/ Jelle Klaasen's website]
* [http://www.dartswdf.com/aa_darts/features/lakeside2006brochure/ProgFile/LS2006P28.html Lakeside tournament brochure 2006]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/4615408.stm BBC Sport article "Klaasen springs world title shock"]