Vincent van der Voort

Vincent van der Voort (born 18 December 1975) is a Dutch former professional darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) then Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is nicknamed the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used to go by "Grease Lightning". He is best known for his quick throwing style, which is how he got his temporary nickname "the Fastest Player in the World". He has won 4 PDC Pro Tour titles and was the runner-up at the 2007 UK Open, which helped him become a well known face in the world of darts. He is also a three-time World Championship quarter-finalist.

Van der Voort is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world. This ties in with his old entrance music, "Fast Fuse" by English band Kasabian. This has resulted in him tending to be either right on or way off his intended target.

His best results in British Darts Organisation events were winning the Danish Open in 2002 and 2006 and reaching the quarter-finals of the BDO World Championship at Frimley Green in 2005, defeating 2004 champion Andy Fordham in the process.

He suffered a first round exit in the 2007 World Championship to unranked qualifier Davy Richardson. It was announced days later that Van der Voort, along with fellow Dutchmen Jelle Klaasen and Michael van Gerwen would be switching to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

Van der Voort produced a superb run to reach the final of the 2007 UK Open before losing in the final to countryman Raymond van Barneveld. The runner-up prize of £15,000 helped him climb up the world rankings having started placed 211 in the PDC and has now made it into the top 20. He qualified for the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic but lost in the first round to Peter Manley.

Van der Voort reached the second round of the 2008 PDC World Championship. He played his fellow Dutchman Klaasen in the first round, defeating him 3–2 in sets. Adrian Lewis was his opponent in the second round and Van der Voort lost 4-2. The US Open saw a disappointing 2–3 first round defeat at the hands of John Kuczynski of the US.

The UK Open saw a return to form with Van der Voort making it all the way to the semi-final. He started in the fourth round with a fine 9–4 win over Colin Lloyd. This was followed up in the fifth round with another victory over Klaasen. The quarter final matched him with Chris Thompson and a 10–5 win was enough to see Van der Voort through to the semi-final. In the semi-final, Van der Voort eventually succumbed to a 10–4 defeat by James Wade who went on to win the tournament.

His World Matchplay campaign was ended at the first hurdle. Number 13 seed Alan Tabern won the encounter with a narrow 10–8 victory. The World Grand Prix saw Van der Voort playing former World number 1 Lloyd in the first round and Van der Voort eliminated by a score of 2–0.