PDC Career
Klaasen did not make an immediate impact on the PDC circuit, having to start virtually from scratch at 262 in the world rankings. He competed at most of the Pro Tour events (Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals) to improve his ranking. 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 him climb to 49 in the Order of Merit. He only made it into one televised PDC event in the UK during 2007 (the UK Open where he reached the last 32) but his form towards the end of the year ensured automatic qualification for the 2008 World Championship - his debut in the PDC version. He lost in the first round to fellow Dutchman van der Voort in a sudden death leg, having missed ten darts to win the match.
He defeated Lloyd, Jan van der Rassel and Hamilton to reach the quarter finals of the 2009 PDC World Championship, only dropping one set in the process. In the quarter finals, he was beaten by van Barneveld 5-1. The match is best remembered for Barneveld hitting the first 9-dart leg in the history of the PDC World Championship.
In January 2009, Klaasen was chosen as one of the two wildcards for the 2009 Premier League Darts tournament, where he will compete against Taylor, James Wade, van Barneveld, John Part, Terry Jenkins, King and the other wildcard Wayne Mardle.
Klaasen found life hard in the Premier League, losing 5 and drawing 2 of his opening 7 matches. On 26 March, Klaasen defeated Terry Jenkins 8-6 to finally record his first victory in the competition. Klaasen finished 7th in the Premier League after Wayne Mardle withdrew from the competition. Klaasen qualified for the World Matchplay in Blackpool but lost 10-8 to Ronnie Baxter in the first round.
Klaasen lost in the first round of the 2010 World Championship losing 3-1 to Welshman Barrie Bates. He then reached the quarter finals of the 2010 World Matchplay, beating Mervyn King and Gary Anderson before losing to Simon Whitlock.
Klaasen reached the second round of the 2012 World Championship with a 3-1 win over Peter Wright, but was beaten 4-0 by James Wade after missing darts to win the third set.
Read more about this topic: Jelle Klaasen
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