On 15 January 2006, Klaasen became the youngest World Darts Champion, aged 21 years 90 days, when he defeated fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld in the final of the 2006 BDO World Championship by 7 sets to 5.
25 Facts About Jelle Klaasen
2.
Jelle Klaasen beat Shaun Greatbatch and world number one Mervyn King on his way to the final.
3.
Jelle Klaasen has won some Open events in his native country including the Alkmaar Open.
4.
Jelle Klaasen reached the quarter-finals of the Swiss Open and Denmark Open during 2006.
5.
Jelle Klaasen returned to the Lakeside to defend his World title at the 2007 Championship.
6.
Jelle Klaasen was unseeded for the event after a poor run of form and was facing the seeded Co Stompe, with eventual winner Martin Adams waiting in round two should he win.
7.
Jelle Klaasen became the sixth defending champion to fall at the first hurdle in his title defence with his first round loss to fellow countryman Stompe by three sets to nil.
8.
The day after the final it was announced that Jelle Klaasen would be defecting to the rival Professional Darts Corporation, alongside two fellow countrymen, Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort.
9.
The BDO planned to take legal action as Jelle Klaasen had a year left on his contract.
10.
Jelle Klaasen did not make an immediate impact on the PDC circuit, having to start virtually from scratch at 262 in the world rankings.
11.
Jelle Klaasen competed at most of the Pro Tour events to improve his ranking.
12.
Jelle Klaasen lost in the first round to fellow Dutchman Vincent van der Voort in a sudden death leg, having missed ten darts to win the match.
13.
Jelle Klaasen defeated Colin Lloyd, Jan van der Rassel and Andy Hamilton to reach the quarter finals of the 2009 PDC World Championship, only dropping one set in the process.
14.
In January 2009, Jelle Klaasen was chosen as one of the two wildcards for the 2009 Premier League Darts tournament, where he competed against Taylor, James Wade, Van Barneveld, John Part, Terry Jenkins, King and the other wildcard Wayne Mardle.
15.
Jelle Klaasen found life hard in the Premier League, losing 5 and drawing 2 of his opening 7 matches.
16.
Jelle Klaasen finished 7th in the Premier League after Wayne Mardle withdrew from the competition.
17.
Jelle Klaasen then reached the quarter finals of the 2010 World Matchplay, beating Mervyn King and Gary Anderson before losing to Simon Whitlock.
18.
In May, Jelle Klaasen reached his first PDC final since November 2007 at the fourth Players Championship by beating the likes of Mervyn King and Gary Anderson.
19.
Jelle Klaasen played Justin Pipe and was denied a place in the final as Pipe took out a 134 finish in the deciding leg.
20.
Jelle Klaasen overcame Joe Cullen and Mervyn King to advance to the third round of the World Championship for the first time since 2009.
21.
Taylor missed one dart to win the match and Jelle Klaasen took full advantage by winning four legs on the trot, wrapping it up with an 11 darter.
22.
Jelle Klaasen was two legs to one down in the next set but produced back-to-back 11 dart legs to win it and then clinched the final set without conceding a leg to advance to the semi-finals of a PDC World Championship for the first time, where he faced reigning champion Gary Anderson.
23.
Jelle Klaasen's victory marked the first time that a player has won their next game after knocking Taylor out of a PDC World Championship.
24.
Jelle Klaasen explained how he could play for five or six legs before experiencing pain in his throwing hand.
25.
Jelle Klaasen is sponsored by Keukenconcurrent, a company that produces fitted kitchens in his home country.