Michael van Gerwen barely averted another sensation at the Darts World Cup. The superstar was threatened with elimination against a Japanese debutant. The duel culminated in drama. The Japanese threw nine set darts past the double – and MVG threw his darts onto the ground.
The traces of the drama were immediately visible on Michael van Gerwen’s face. The eyes were wet, the head glowed red. “It was really difficult,” the superstar admitted. There wasn’t much left of his almost inexhaustible self-confidence after this close opening match at the Darts World Championship.
In the end, Van Gerwen had the upper hand against Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, but the 3-1 score didn’t reflect how close “Mighty Mike” had been to his first first-round exit in 15 years. “He made me work really hard today. Oioioi,” he breathed. Van Gerwen appeared to be where his darts had landed at the end of the game: on the ground. “I made it too difficult for myself. I wasn’t myself. I was too hyper. That was rubbish. I can do much better than that.”
The supposedly easy gallop against the Japanese debutant had already started with a shock for him. Tatsunami consistently held his throw in the first set and checked 92 points in the decider to make it 1-0.
After his compatriot Motomu Sakai’s 3-0 win and the Kenyan David Munyua’s score in the afternoon, Alexandra Palace sensed the next sensation. And Tatsunami continued, checking 71 points with sleepwalking confidence on Tops to make it 2-0. The Japanese had now scored five of his ten attempts, while van Gerwen’s double rate dwindled to eight percent (1/12).
But the favorite showed champion qualities and equalized twice in 14 darts to make it 2-2. It was now a rousing exchange of blows, the second round of which went to the Dutchman. “Mighty Mike” checked with the last dart on double 2 while his opponent waited with 50 points remaining. He had just pulled his head out of the noose.
But from now on, not everything went as expected. Van Gerwen took his throw-off set from Tatsunami and filled with his presence the stage on which he had already played in a World Cup final seven times. But round four meant a relapse again. The superstar conceded the break and was 0-2 behind.
Van Gerwen with an easy World Cup draw
He held the World Cup trophy in the confetti rain three times here: in 2014, 2017 and 2019. He also made it to the final at the 2025 World Cup, but after losing to Luke Littler, he never made it to a final at any ranking event.
Subscribe to WELTMeister Spotify, Apple Podcasts or directly via RSS-Feed.
And especially after this start, it is difficult to believe that this will change in the coming weeks. However, the tournament tree opens up some opportunities for him. Irishman William O’Connor or Krzysztof Kciuk from Poland would be waiting in round two. Then there would be a duel with Peter Wright or Arno Merk.
All of them are beatable opponents, and even in the round of 16 it could be worse than facing Scotsman Gary Anderson or compatriot Jermaine Wattimena. So he still has time to improve.
In the first round he pushed his luck. Van Gerwen shortened the score to 1:2, but with 80 points remaining, he didn’t get a chance to finish due to a missed single-20. Since the Japanese didn’t use five set darts, MVG saved himself in the decider.
There Tatsunami had 73 points left and missed another set dart on Tops. A drama unfolded, and van Gerwen was in no way inferior to his opponent, missing his first two match darts on double 16.
But the 52-year-old scored the next three tickets. A total of nine set darts weren’t enough, so the favorite was prevented from going into the fifth set. He won’t get far with this performance. 90.82 points on average and 29 percent on doubles don’t scare anyone these days.
“It wasn’t the best management. The most important thing is that you win. In the first round of the World Cup it’s just about surviving,” he said with some distance: “I have to stay calm now. It’s not a sprint, but a marathon.”
Sherrock
Previously, Fallon Sherrock failed in her attempt to win another match after her amazing run at the 2020 World Cup. The “Queen of the Palace” lost 3-0 to Dave Chisnall.
After the Englishwoman repeatedly prevented herself from winning the first set through errors in the checkout, Chisnall turned up the heat after a nervous start and secured the second round in 16, 14 and 15 darts. In the third set, the 31-year-old missed four set darts and had to accept defeat with only three of 23 checkouts hit.
Chisnall faces Ricardo Pietreczko in round two. The German prevailed against the Portuguese Jose de Sousa and was particularly impressive on the double fields.
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
- Callan Rydz (ENG) – Patrik Kovacs (HUN) 3:0 (3:1, 3:1, 3:1)
- Thibault Tricole (FRA) – Motomu Sakai (JPN) 0:3 (2:3, 2:3, 0:3)
- Ryan Joyce (ENG/24) – Owen Bates (ENG) 3:0 (3:0, 3:1, 3:0)
- Mike De Decker (BEL/18) – David Munyua (KEN) 2:3 (3:1, 3:2, 2:3, 2:3, 1:3)
- Jermaine Wattimena (NED/19) – Dominik Grüllich (D) 3:2 (3:1, 2:3, 2:3, 3:1, 3:0)
- Dave Chisnall (ENG/21) – Fallon Sherrock (ENG) 3:0 (3:1, 3:0, 3:2)
- Michael van Gerwen (NED/3) – Mitsuhiko Tatsunami (JPN) 3:1 (1:3, 3:2, 3:1, 3:2)
- Krzysztof Ratajski (POL) – Alexis Toylo (PHI) 3:0 (3:0, 3:1, 3:1)
