Wesley Plaisier insists he is focused only on the game in front of him despite his shock win over Gerwyn Price in round two at the World Darts Championship.
Plaisier stunned the darting world with his whitewash triumph over ninth seed Price, with the Welshman previously considered a leading candidate to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy.
The Dutchman’s reward for reaching round three at Alexandra Palace for the first time in his career is a clash with Krzysztof Ratajski, who has reached this stage of the tournament on six occasions.
However, the 35-year-old – a winner of a Players Championship event in 2024 despite not holding a PDC Tour Card at the time – insists the landmark win against Price is not interfering with his mentality.
“I’m just looking at the tournament match-by-match,” admitted Plaisier, “Hopefully I can win the next one.
“The draw is open, but there are still a lot of good players in. Every game is really hard, there are no easy games.
“Krzysztof is my next opponent, he’s a good player and also dangerous. I won’t underestimate him.”
Plaisier’s victory over Price broke new ground in many ways for the Dutchman. He defeated his highest-ever seed faced at the World Championship and took one step closer to entering the world’s top 64 for the first time in his career.
Plaisier earned his PDC Tour Card by finishing second on the 2024 Challenge Tour rankings and therefore has at least one more year on tour, whilst he acknowledges he does not feel pressure to achieve this at Alexandra Palace.
“It would be a really big achievement to reach the top 64, but I’m not thinking about that,” insisted Plaisier.
“My biggest goal next year is to try and get into the top 64, to try and keep my tour card.
“To be in the top 64 so soon would take off a lot of pressure for next year, but I just want to win my next game.”
Victory over Ratajski would place Plaisier on the periphery of achieving this feat, but also set up a last 16 tie with either Luke Woodhouse or Andrew Gilding.
After his round two triumph, the Dutchman believes his confidence is at a career-high, making him a dangerous opponent for the Polish number one and possibly anyone beyond.
“This year, Price has been one of the best players on the tour and he’s played really well in the big tournaments,” stated Plaisier.
“I always believe in myself, but it was more like hope to win against Price. I don’t think a lot of people would have thought I would beat him.
“The best wins are when you don’t expect them. This is by far my biggest win ever.
“If you can beat Gerwyn Price, you can beat anybody.”