A former darts star has confirmed his retirement from the sport just weeks before the 2026 World Darts Championship begins.
This year’s tournament starts on December 11 at Alexandra Palace, with reigning champion Luke Littler opening the event as he begins the defence of his Sid Waddell Trophy against Darius Labanauskas. A total of 128 players will battle for the world title, with a record £5 million prize fund on the line, including £1 million for the winner.
One familiar face who will be absent is Dutch thrower Vincent van der Voort, who lost his PDC Tour Card in 2024. Before missing out that year, he had appeared at every World Championship since 2008. His best runs came in 2011 and 2015, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champions Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor respectively.
Now 49, Van der Voort has most recently been competing on the Seniors Tour after falling off the main PDC circuit. Last month, he revealed he would not be entering the qualifiers for this year’s World Championship, citing persistent physical issues.
Speaking on his podcast Darts Draait Door, he admitted:
“I’ve played a couple of demos in recent weeks and I just notice that I have too much trouble with the body. I’m not going there because I like it so much, or because I want to see all those people. So then we’re just going to follow it.”
He has since made his retirement official.
In an interview with De Telegraaf, he said:
“I just noticed that the pain came back quickly in my back, knees and neck even after lots of rest. I don’t feel like playing with pain anymore. I had hoped to come back, but apparently the body is too rickety.”
Van der Voort added that both his wife and close friend Michael van Gerwen witnessed the extent of his discomfort:
“It’s not the easiest decision, because I’ve done it all my life. I started playing darts at around nine years old. I’m used to the pressure and to playing matches. The realisation that I’ve stopped for good may still need to sink in, but I’m at peace with it.”
The Dutchman has not shied away from criticising the sport’s leadership during the twilight of his career. Last year, he took aim at Matchroom Sport and its president Barry Hearn, the former PDC chairman.
While acknowledging Hearn’s commercial success, he was far less complimentary on a personal level:
“He’s a great businessman—an icon for the sport. But as a person, a bigger ashtray does not exist. On a personal level he is a terrible person, I think.”
Hearn, 77, later responded with surprise, saying he had “no idea” why Van der Voort would make such comments, adding that he hadn’t spoken to him for several years but wished him well regardless.
In May, Van der Voort again criticised the Matchroom chief, telling Pluto TV—via the Daily Express—that Hearn is “full of himself” and should listen more closely to the views of PDC players when making major decisions.
