Niels Zonneveld thought it was special to take action on the new digital darts tournament PDC Home Tour immediately on the opening day. The North Hollander had to get used to the rules that apply during the matches and the occasionally poor connection, so that the image disappeared a few times.
“For example, we had to pause for 20 seconds after a lay so that the bookies (various gambling sites in the UK had a live stream, ed.) Could anticipate this because of the delay that was involved. That is usually not the case,” said Zonneveld immediately after end of the evening against NU.nl.
“The presenter also sometimes had some problems with his Wi-Fi or did not understand the scores well. Then you have to pick yourself up again. You can’t get into your game because of that. Anyway, things like that are part of the game. you to deal with that. It is not easy, but it is a nice learning process. “
Zonneveld and his opponents had to pass the scores themselves to the presenter. That was a reason for Wesley Harms, among others, not to sign up because sabotage could be involved due to the poor image quality, but according to Zonneveld it is almost impossible to cheat.
“The presenter has a better picture because he is in a direct call with us. It is true that there is only a camera aimed at the dartboard. So if you take a few steps forward, nobody can check that. But why would you do that? The PDC has also said several times that such a fine or suspension may follow. “
–
‘Would like to participate again’
21-year-old Zonneveld finished last in group 1. He started well with a 5-3 win against later winner Jamie Lewis, but then lost to Peter Jacques (2-5) and world champion Peter Wright (1-5) . Like Wright, he will probably play again in the coming weeks because not all 128 Tour card holders have registered with the PDC.
“I would definitely like to participate again. It is not ideal, but you have a nice evening in itself. A real match is of course more fun, but this is a good alternative. I also want to support the PDC in this way because they’ve set up something for us and are trying to keep the fans entertained. They do well. “
Zonneveld had to gather things head over heels to be able to participate on Friday at all. He was told on Wednesday that he had to start immediately on the first night and therefore had to arrange lighting, a camera and a WiFi amplifier for the attic in the parental home in Uitgeest within two days.
“Fortunately, I was able to borrow everything from different people. The PDC sent an email this morning saying that the dartboard must necessarily be from Unicorn because they also throw on television. I would have, but if it had not been they would send one. It would have been a very short day, I think. “
– .
