A former World Darts Championship competitor is set to lose his PDC Tour Card in the coming weeks after a punishing year that saw him forced to switch throwing hands.
Jules van Dongen, known as “The Dutch Dragon”, will drop off the professional circuit after slipping to 151st in the world rankings. The 35-year-old has spent the past 12 months throwing with his weaker left hand after long-term physical problems made it impossible to continue with his natural right.
Van Dongen has previously described the condition as debilitating, likening it to “a right-footed footballer suddenly only being allowed to kick with his left.”
“You have to think about every move,” he explained.
He has also spoken openly about the loss of control in his throwing hand.
“It feels like I’ve got spaghetti in my hand,” van Dongen said. “I can’t get a proper grip on the dart. My hand just does strange things and I can’t control it.”
Despite those struggles, van Dongen remarkably secured another two-year PDC Tour Card in 2024 after finishing second on the European Q-School Order of Merit, posting averages of 94 and 95 along the way. But the underlying issue never went away.
Opening up last December, he detailed the lengths he had gone to in search of a solution.
“I’ve tried working with a sports psychologist, acupuncture, meditation,” he wrote on Facebook. “It’s probably 100 per cent neurological, but that doesn’t change the fact I can’t roll the dart in my thumb. I simply can’t hold it anymore — and over the last year it’s only gotten worse.”
Van Dongen has been keen to stress that his condition — task-specific dystonia — is often misunderstood.
“One thing people get wrong is that it’s not a mental disorder,” he said. “It’s neurological. That misconception in darts is a huge problem.”
The Dutch-born American represented the United States alongside Danny Lauby at the World Cup of Darts in June, but the pair failed to reach the knockout stages. Van Dongen averaged just 62.43, later admitting his confidence had hit rock bottom.
“After the World Cup my confidence and joy in the game was at an all-time low,” he wrote. “That’s when I decided to fully commit to the left hand. In July I was convinced my darting days were over — now I’m optimistic and hopeful.”
He added: “I finally have enough confidence and joy again that I’m actually looking forward to going to England and playing on the Pro Tour one more time.”
Van Dongen’s battle has extended beyond darts, with the condition now affecting everyday tasks such as picking up objects — a reality he has described as heartbreaking.
Although his PDC Tour Card will expire, the 35-year-old has already mapped out a long-term comeback plan.
“Four years on the Pro Tour are coming to an end,” he said earlier this year. “Q-School is too early for me in January, but as I become more competitive left-handed, I’ll start rebuilding on the WDF circuit. My goal is Q-School 2027.”
For now, van Dongen’s journey stands as one of the most sobering reminders of how cruel and unforgiving professional darts can be — even for those with the talent to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.
