Sunday, December 14, 2025
Column CM153
The Wasps Are Back Too!
In addition to the players the wasps were back for the first two days of the World Championship!
The first day of the PDC World Championship, featuring only one evening session, began with the first German participant, Arno Merk, one of eight German players who will stand on the stage of Alexandra Palace this year and one of three German debutants.
Merk secured his place in the tournament as the winner of the Super League Germany. Merk is an experienced player. He was the German champion in 2010, participated in the BDO World Championship in 2011, and competed in both PDC and WDF tournaments until 2016. He then took a break, returning in 2023 and again playing in both WDF and PDC tournaments – though without noteworthy success.
Perhaps Merk’s experience helped him in his PDC World Championship debut – he didn’t appear nervous at all during his walk-on, and the big stage didn’t seem to faze him.
The first set between Merk and Huybrechts was of modest quality and was won by Merk in the deciding leg. The match got better and solid but with neither player managing to average more than 89. However, Merk was quite consistent on the doubles compared to Huybrechts and also scored slightly better, allowing him to win the match 3-1. Huybrechts did manage at least one highlight – a 113 finish in the third set.
The second match actually started quite promisingly – both Michael Smith and Lisa Ashton played a respectable first set, but after Ashton missed a set dart, her performance dropped significantly and she struggled – and hence. Smith didn’t have to do much. His 91.19 average was enough to win the match 3-0. I expected a better than 77 average from Ashton – she really doesn’t seem to cope well with the stage at Alexandra Palace despite receiving such great support from the crowd.
In the third match, Luke Littler took the stage and won 3-0 against Darius Labanauskas, who made life extremely difficult for him. Littler managed to win the first two sets in deciding legs, and Labanauskas, who improved as the match progressed, also had chances in the third set. He lost 0-3, like Ashton, which was almost to be expected, but he can still be very satisfied with his performance – he certainly didn’t give up without a fight. Littler is the first player at this World Championship to average over 100. It was the best match of the first evening.
The last match was a bit strange…
Debutant Jamai van den Herik was extremely nervous, and Madars Razma seemed extremely tense. As a result, it was a rather sluggish affair in which the debutant grew stronger because Razma was so tense that he made a lot of mistakes and was also very shaky on the doubles. Overall van den Heriks was far too inconsistent in his scoring, managing to win only one set, while Razma, with his wealth of experience and a visibly relieved appearance, managed to get over the finishing line.
The first evening hadn’t been particularly memorable – apart from the match between Littler and Labanauskas, it was rather uneventful. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining night.
On the second day, there was an afternoon and an evening session, and this format will remain most days throughout the tournament…
The afternoon session began with the match between Dutchman Niels Zonneveld and New Zealander Haupai Puha. It was Zonneveld’s fifth PDC World Championship, and Puha’s third. While Puha seemed to be playing better, Zonneveld was leading 2-0 after the second set. Puha’s problems with his doubles were combined with poor timing. In the final set, it seemed as if the New Zealander had already given up – he surrendered without any real resistance to the now clearly better Zonneveld, who deservedly won 3-0.
The second match was a nostalgic encounter between Ian White and Mervyn King. It wasn’t a particularly good match. King missed far too many doubles in the first two sets and fell behind 0-2. Things improved for King after that as he constantly talked himself up. He managed to win the third set and then played a decent fourth, in which White missed his first match dart. However, King’s double problems reappeared in the fifth set, and he weakened again, allowing White to win the set relatively comfortably.
During the match, the Ally Pally wasp briefly appeared in the spotlight. It wouldn’t be its last appearance on that day.
After that, a match between two fast-throwing players followed, which was quite one-sided as well and lasted less than 30 minutes including the two breaks…
Chris Landman was simply no match for Ryan Searle and had no chance – he only managed to win two legs in the second set, one of which was due to a misjudgment by Searle. Despite this, Searle won the set, but then his performance dipped somewhat but still was enough to defeat Landman 3-0. This has a bitter consequence for Landman – he will lose his Tour Card.
To conclude the afternoon session, Cross faced Dekker – a somewhat disappointing match, as Dekker has certainly played much better matches. Perhaps the debutant was very nervous – in any case, he struggled to find his rhythm, and while Cross didn’t show an outstanding performance, he had little trouble securing a 3-0 victory. And true to the saying “the best is saved for last,” he finished the match and the afternoon session with the first 170 finish of the World Championship.
A dead wasp lay in front of the photographer’s podium.
After this varied afternoon session, the evening session began with a great atmosphere among the crowd…
In the first match, Ross Smith, seeded 12th, faced Swedish debutant Andreas Harrysson. Harrysson won the first two legs because Smith couldn’t hit his doubles, but then Smith’s doubles turned up and he won the first set.
In the second set, Harrysson was ahead again and Smith leveled the score once more, but this time Harrysson won the deciding leg and had the crowd now firmly on his side.
Set three went to Smith, even though Harrysson threw a 146 finish. Perhaps it helped Smith that he was accompanied the whole time by a wasp on his shirt. Harrysson, however, didn’t give up so easily and won the fourth set 3-2. Smith missed several match darts in the set.
In the deciding set, Smith started an unsuccessful comeback attempt – Harrysson was not to be stopped and won the match in a dramatic deciding leg. Smith was the first seeded player who was eliminated.
Next up was Ricky Evans’ walk-on which once again didn’t disappoint. But the match wasn’t bad either!
Fueled by his own walk-on, Evans won the first set quickly, with Leung only managing to win one leg. The second set went a bit better for Leung, and both this and the third went to a deciding leg. The third set was Leung’s best, but Evans kept his cool and secured the victory with an 84 finish.
In the next match Gian van Veen managed to win 3-1 against Cristo Reyes, but he was under considerable pressure from the Spaniard. van Veen dominated the first two sets, but Reyes gradually found his rhythm.
The third set was a strong one for Reyes – the Spaniard finally had returned to the Alexandra Palace stage and secured it 3-1 after winning the first leg with a 167 finish. The fourth and final set went to a deciding leg, where van Veen was the first to reach a finish and comfortably closed out his remaining 43 points. Reyes will attempt to reclaim his Tour Card at Q-School in January.
Before the final match, another dead wasp lay this time on the photographer’s podium.
In the last match of the second day, Damon Heta played against Steve Lennon, a match that looked like a sure thing on paper…
Heta easily won the first two sets, dropping only one leg in the second. But then came the third set, and Heta’s performance dipped slightly. Lennon responded and snatched the set in the deciding leg after Heta failed to convert his remaining 40 points. In the final set, Heta regained his focus and Lennon had no chance – Heta was simply too consistent on his doubles. Lennon will likely lose his Tour Card as well.
That was the end of the second day but stay tuned. The wasps are still alive!
