Peter Wright didn’t want to face Kim Huybrechts in the second round. He was pleased that Arno Merk threw the Belgian out of the tournament. The world champion of 2020 and 2022 does not exude real confidence.
What Peter Wright brought to the Alexandra Palace stage in his first round against Noa-Lynn van Leuven was not convincing. Even with his already traditional costume show, not everything went smoothly. His opponent had to help him out of his gloves, and at times it later seemed as if he hadn’t taken them off while throwing.
Wright won 3-0, but the 2020 and 2022 world champion himself knew that it would be difficult to penetrate deeper into the tournament table at this level. “No, I’m not happy with my performance. Noa played extremely strong legs, just at the wrong time – and then missed the doubles. I got away with it again,” said Wright self-critically.
His very acceptable double rate of 56.3 percent should give him hope, but the 83.51 points average worries him. He insisted that the old version of himself was still inside him. He plays so well in training “that I think: I’m unbeatable.”
A German will now test this perceived aura on stage: Arno Merk, who prevailed against Kim Huybrechts in his World Cup debut thanks to a strong performance.
Wright wanted to avoid Huybrechts
On December 23rd, Merk will be rewarded early with the duel against the double world champion. The size of the gift is uncertain. “I saw his match against Kim. He played some fantastic darts,” says Wright, who was hoping for the duel after the draw, albeit under different circumstances.
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“Probably everyone thought that I was playing against Kim. And I didn’t want to play against Kim so that he wouldn’t ruin Christmas for me. But of course that can still happen now. I’ll have to put pressure on him.”
It’s the first duel between the two, and the German doesn’t really know what awaits him on the evening before the three-day Christmas break at Alexandra Palace. At least he won’t have to help his opponent out of a costume. Wright has no plans for disguise. “I come as a normal guy,” he said, “at least maybe.”
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
- Brendan Dolan (NIR) – Tavis Dudeney (ENG) 3:1 (3:1, 3:2, 2:3, 3:1)
- Cameron Menzies (SCO/26) – Charlie Manby (ENG) 2:3 (3:2, 2:3, 3:1, 2:3, 1:3)
- Mensur Suljovic (AUT) – David Cameron (CAN) 3:1 (3:1, 2:3, 3:1, 3:1)
- Peter Wright (SCO/30) – Noa-Lynn van Leuven (NED) 3:0 (3:1, 3:2, 3:0)
- Martin Lukeman (ENG) – Max Hopp (D) 1:3 (0:3, 2:3, 3:2, 0:3)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode (NED/29) – Andy Baetens (BEL) 3:2 (3:1, 1:3, 1:3, 3:1, 3:1)
