Rick Hofstra (born 21 April 1977) is a former

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

professional

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the ...

player.

Career

Hofstra reached the quarter finals of the 2001 Belgium Open and the 2002 Swiss Open before making his major debut in the 2003

International Darts League The Topic International Darts League was a darts tournament held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Raymond van Barneveld dominated the tournament, held in his home country, winning it on three of the five occasions it was held. Gary Anders ...

, where he beat

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

's Bob Taylor in his opening group game before losing to

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champ ...

. Hofstra then beat

Co Stompé Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé (born 10 September 1962) is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of ...

to qualify for the second group stage where he lost all three group games to

Andy Fordham Andrew Fordham (2 February 1962 – 15 July 2021) was an English professional darts player, commonly known as The Viking. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship and the 1999 Winmau World Masters. Darts career Fordham made his first app ...

Tony David Tony David (born 11 September 1967) is an Australian former professional darts player, who played under the nickname The Deadly Boomerang. He is the only Australian player to have been a senior singles world darts champion, having won the 200 ...

and

Jarkko Komula Jarkko Komula (born 13 March 1976) is a Finnish former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is nicknamed Smiley because he rarely smiles. Darts career BDO Komula reached the final of the 2001 ...

. He then lost in the first round of the 2003

World Darts Trophy The Bullit World Darts Trophy was a professional darts tournament run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation. Held each September from 2002 to 2007, it took place at the De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, Netherlands. The tou ...

, losing to Tony West and then lost in the first round of the 2003

Winmau World Masters The World Masters is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments, which began in 1974. The tournament is sponsored by darts board manufacturer, Winmau. The World Masters was unusual in darts in that its sets are th ...

Martin Adams Martin Adams (born 4 June 1956) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridges ...

. Hofstra qualified for the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, losing 3–1 to Mervyn King in controversial circumstances. With the match tied at one set all, King complained that the oche was not the correct length. With the players off the stage, officials checked the length and the match resumed with King taking the next two sets to win 3–1. After first round exits in the 2004 International Darts League and the World Darts Trophy, Hofstra reached the quarter finals of the 2004 World Masters, beating

Paul Hanvidge Paul Albert Hanvidge (born 15 June 1961) is a former Scottish professional darts player. His best achievement is reaching the quarter-finals of the Lakeside World Championship twice. Career Hanvidge was the 2005 German Open Champion and made ...

and then upsetting van Barneveld before losing to David. Hofstra returned to the Lakeside for the

2005 BDO World Darts Championship The 2005 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was held from 1–9 January 2005 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Raymond van Barneveld lifted the title for a fourth time, defeating England captain Martin Adams 6 ...

, this time taking one of the automatic places meaning he avoided having to qualify. He was beaten in the first round by 4th seed West 3–2. Since then however, Hofstra has not done well in the circuit with only a semi final place in the unranked Spring Cup in 2005 to his credit. In 2007, Hofstra began playing in PDC events, reaching the last 32 of the second PDPA Players Championship Holland event. He currently plays in the Nederlandse Darts Bond, an affiliation of the BDO and won the Open Zuid Netherland in 2008. Hofstra qualified for the 2014 World Championship where he played his practice partner

Remco van Eijden Remco van Eijden (born 12 September 1977) is a Dutch former darts player. Career Van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in th ...

and whitewashed him 3–0 in sets and 9–0 in legs, averaging over 90 and hitting all but five of his darts at double. He then received a bye to the quarter-finals when his second round opponent,

Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works a ...

, withdrew from their match with an elbow injury while Hofstra was leading 2–0 in sets. In the quarter-final, Hofstra led top seed

Stephen Bunting Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former Wo ...

2–0 but missed two darts to lead 3–1, then at 3–2 down on a 64 checkout attempt missed the board when trying to set up a dart at double to level the match. Bunting eventually won 5–2 and went on to win the title. Hofstra again qualified for the 2015 World Championship, where he lost 3–1 against

Jim Widmayer Jim Widmayer (born August 23, 1969) is an American professional darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Career Widmayer played in the inaugural World Matchplay in 1994, losing 6–8 in the first round to Keith Del ...

in the first round, who had beaten Rhys Hayden in his preliminary round match.

World Championship Performances

BDO

* 2004: 1st Round (lost to Mervyn King 1–3) * 2005: 1st Round (lost to Tony West 2–3) * 2014: Quarter Final (lost to

2–5) * 2015: 1st Round (lost to

1–3)

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofstra, Rick 1977 births Living people Dutch darts players People from Sneek British Darts Organisation players Sportspeople from Friesland