After two opening victories, the first German player was caught at the Darts World Cup in London. The fluctuations for debutant Lukas Wenig were too great. Dimitri van den Bergh, who collapsed mentally on stage, is far more worried.
His first darts world championship will remain an intense but short memory for Lukas Wenig. The man from Marburg went down in the history of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) as the 510th World Cup participant and the 21st from Germany, but lost his World Cup debut against Wesley Plaisier from the Netherlands 1:3.
This means that the first of the eight German participants is eliminated. Arno Merk and Gabriel Clemens had previously won their first round matches in the tournament.
The first set passed the German in a hurry. Little received just one dart on doubles, but missed the 114 high finish on tops. An average of 84.63 points was not enough to secure a leg.
The subsequent break was good for the 31-year-old. Wenig came back into the match with his first 180, was on double 20 after eleven darts, but then needed six attempts to check to win the first leg. Then one attempt was enough for him to break. The debutant now seemed to have arrived on the biggest stage in his sport, but his fluctuations continued to dominate the match.
With 55 points remaining, Wenig missed the single 15 – Plaisier punished him with 1:2 and 2:2. The German’s next big mistake came in the decider. With 60 points remaining, he hit the 5 instead of the 20, but later equalized the set with the last dart. Breathe deeply.
The ups and downs were mirrored after two sets of 30 percent on the doubles and an average of 85.02 points. Little’s third 180 prepared the necessary break in the third set. The German number five also checked 91 points to make it 2-1, but was unable to confirm afterwards. Plaisier equalized in 14 darts.
Both players now increased their scoring power – and the Dutchman’s checkout was also right. He scored again with the first dart, his eighth goal in 15 attempts, to make it 2-1 in sets.
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The world number 92 was now on the fast track, standing at 51 points after nine darts and checking one shot later to break. Little tried to keep up with the number of shots, equalized again in 13 darts to make it 1-1, only to then miss a bunch of triples again. Plaisier remained stable and crossed the finish line 3-1 in the fourth round.
Max Hopp is the fourth of the eight Germans in action on Monday evening (from 8 p.m. Sport1 and DAZN live). The German record participant will meet the Englishman Martin Lukeman at his ninth PDC World Championship. Ricardo Pietreczko, Martin Schindler, Dominik Grüllich and Niko Springer will follow in the days that follow.
Van den Bergh scores in the 13th attempt
For Dimitri van den Bergh, the question arises as to what will happen next with his career. “We’ll see him again. I just don’t know when or where,” said commentator Wayne Mardle, who watched the entire match on British TV. Van den Bergh went down 3-0 to World Cup debutant Darren Beveridge.
The defeat became apparent early on and became a minor matter in the second set at the latest. The fundamental concerns that the Belgian caused among fans and observers with his performance were too great.
Van den Bergh had to interrupt his rhythm at times in order to be able to continue the match. In the first set he missed all nine attempts at doubles, and there was no improvement after the break. In the 13th attempt he hit double 9. It should remain his only checkout.
It hurt to have the two-time major winner’s powerlessness in the fight against his demons presented in such an uncensored way. The 31-year-old won the World Matchplay in 2020 and the UK Open in 2024, but under the current conditions there is no question of further titles. It’s all about continuing his career, which simply seems unthinkable in this situation.
Van den Bergh, who struggled with mental problems throughout the season, experienced a slump on the big stage following recent successes. “This is one of the greatest days of my life,” said Beveridge in his opponent’s bitterest hour. The contrasts couldn’t have been more extreme.
The problems are by no means new. The “Dreammaker” had not played darts for long periods of the year and withdrew in order to stabilize himself and find ways and means to regain his old strength. Apparently unsuccessful.
In the end the statistics showed 80.64 points, he hit one of 17 doubles and threw a 180. Horror and shame showed on his face. This performance didn’t just hurt Wayne Mardle.
If Lutz Wöckener Not exactly trying out any sport on his own, he writes about darts and sports politics, but sometimes also about offbeat things like football.
Darts World Cup 2026, results, 1st round
- Ritchie Edhouse (ENG/27) – Jonny Tata (NZL) 0:3 (2:3, 1:3)
- Dom Taylor (ENG) – Oskar Lukasiak (SWE) 3:0 (3:0, 3:0, 3:1)
- Richard Veenstra (NED) – Nitin Kumar (IND) 2:3 (1:3, 3:0, 2:3, 3:0, 1:3)
- Joe Cullen (ENG/32) – Bradley Brooks (ENG) 3:0 (3:1, 3:0, 3:1)
- Lukas Wenig (D) – Wesley Plaisier (NED) 1:3 (0:3, 3:2, 2:3, 1:3)
- Dimitri van den Bergh (BEL/23) – Darren Beveridge (SCO) 0:3 (0:3, 1:3, 0:3)
- Stephen Bunting (ENG/4) – Sebastian Bialecki (POL)
- James Hurrell (ENG) – Stowe Buntz (USA)
