The fourth day of the PDC World Darts Championship entered it’s evening stage, with a major upset taking the spotlight at Ally Pally. The tournament rolls on at a blistering pace, with a shocking result making the headlines from this latest round of action.
By Sarah Leaver
MATCH 1: Lukas Wenig vs Wesley Plaisier
Dutchman Wesley Plaisier took the opening three legs with ease, but Lukas Wenig came back with a spark in the second set, taking out double tops twice to take a two-leg lead. Plaisier’s average heavily decreased in this set, but he still managed to get two legs back and a maximum.
The German powered through to take the deciding leg on his debut and level the sets. This continued in the third leg, taking a hit from Plaisier initially but fighting back to go two legs up. However, the Dutchman pegged him back once again to take yet another set to a deciding leg.
The leg – and set – was won by Plaisier as, even though he missed the bull, Wenig had the difficult job of taking out 140 which gave Plaisier an easy go at a checkout.
Plaisier put himself one leg away from winning the match with the throw and an average of 103, but even missing a match dart didn’t put him off as he checked out 18 to win the set and the match.
RESULT: Lukas Wenig 1 vs Wesley Plaisier 3
MATCH 2: Dimitri Van den Bergh (23) vs Darren Beveridge
Debutant Darren Beveridge took a shock one-set lead against world number 23 Dimitri Van den Bergh, who was the clear bookies, and fan favourite for this match.
“Ice Cold” Beveridge (quite possibly one of the best names in darts) continued to dominate, winning another leg before Van den Bergh got one back. The Belgian didn’t use this momentum to his benefit though, as Beveridge took another two legs to double his set lead.
Once again it looked like a newcomer was going to knock out a seeded player, especially when he took a seventh leg in the game.
Van den Bergh never looked his usual, joyful self through the match, missing double tops and hitting the one bed instead, gifting Beveridge yet another leg, which inevitably led to the Scot’s third leg to win the match.
RESULT: Dimitri Van den Bergh 0 Darren Beveridge 3
MATCH 3: Stephen Bunting (4) vs Sebastian Bialecki
Fan-favourite Stephen Bunting took a 13-dart leg and an 11-dart leg with a near nine-darter to kick off his World Championship campaign against Sebastian Bialecki, who managed to fight off a crowd screaming Bunting’s name to peg back the Englishman.
Bunting took the opening set with an average of just under 120, and the second set was no different for the world number four, taking three legs with the Pole getting just one.
The third set saw Bunting’s luck run out, with Bialecki winning three legs on the bounce, hitting a 104-checkout to get himself a set back in the game.
Winning five legs on the spin, Bialecki really started to pile the pressure on Bunting, winning another set to take the match to a decider after Bunting seemed so comfortable earlier on in the evening.
For the first time this year, the match reached the point where a player had to win two clear legs to win the match, and Bunting was the man who took that opportunity, taking out double 18 to finally get over the line and set up a second-round tie against Nitin Kumar.
RESULT: Stephen Bunting (4) 3 Sebastian Bialecki 2
MATCH 4: James Hurrell vs Stowe Buntz
In the final match of the evening, Englishman James Hurrell took the first two legs before having his confidence knocked by Stowe Buntz who won two legs in a row, but Hurrell eventually took the set.
Buntz had a lot more luck with the trebles in the second leg, winning two in a row – Hurrell got one back, but he was only delaying the inevitable as Buntz took out double five to equalise the sets.
Hurrell came back fighting, going 2-1 up in legs to leave double tops, which he missed but took out double 10 to go ahead in sets.
Hurrell came from 2-0 down in the fourth set to 2-2, and nearly hit a 143-checkout for the match, but his second chance at the match dart worked better for him, finally winning 3-1.
RESULT: James Hurrell 3 Stowe Buntz 1
AS IT HAPPENS: 2025/26 PDC WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP
- World Darts Championship: Day 2 Afternoon session – Rob Cross avoids upset
- World Darts Championship: Day 2 Evening – Major Upset as ‘Ally Pally Wasp’ returns
- World Darts Championship: Day 3 Afternoon – Gary Anderson stars in showdown at Ally Pally
- World Darts Championship: Day 3 Evening – Luke Humphries ignites Ally Pally with dominant win
- World Darts Championship: Day 4 Afternoon – Dom Taylor and Joe Cullen steal the show
EDITORS PICKS
- “Littler wins World Champs” – Predicting the Winner of all 11 Major PDC Darts tournaments for 2026
- 5 Hidden Gems to Watch at the 2026 World Darts Championships
- World Darts Championship 2026: Meet ALL the debutants heading to Ally Pally
- “Move over Ally Pally”- 5 Possible venues for the PDC Darts World Championships
- Who is on the Mount Rushmore of Darts for 2025?