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World Darts Championships – Round 1: Biggest underperformers

22 December 2025
Charlie Elliott

By Jamie Eccles

With the opening round of this year’s PDC World Championship officially in the books, it is fair to say that the shock value that this event can bring has been out in full force.

And whilst it is fun to look at the heroes that have provided these shocks, this piece will focus on those on the other side of the coin who came in with high expectations and were unable to deliver on the big stage.

Jeffrey de Graaf

As much as we all wanted to see the 71-year-old Paul Lim pull off a shock upset in this contest, many believed that Jeffrey de Graaf was on course for a relatively comfortable stroll into round two here.

The sport’s premier Swedish competitor made it to round four last year in impressive fashion, the most notable performance in that run coming in his 3-0 triumph over Gary Anderson.

However, things were not so pleasant this time around. Lim made sure to set the tone early, averaging just shy of 95 as he took the first set by three legs to one.

De Graaf set the record straight in the next set, averaging over 96 as he took the set by the same scoreline. At this point, many of us felt as though this was the beginning of the end for the competition’s oldest ever participant.

Yet again, things didn’t turn out as expected. De Graaf’s level of performance plummeted, averaging in the 70s as Lim took a two-to-one lead in sets. And whilst the average was rectified in the fourth set for de Graaf, the effort was not enough to deny Lim.

The Singapore Slinger defied a 100.13 average from the Swede to take the fourth and final set and send Jeffrey de Graaf home much earlier than expected to the delight of those in attendance.

Dimitri Van den Bergh

2025 has been a nightmare year for Dimitri Van den Bergh. Since his semi-final run at the World Masters early in the year, Van den Bergh has not even been in the conversation for any titles despite his impressive 2024 campaign.

‘The Dreammaker’ would have been looking ahead to the World Championship as a chance to build some confidence and get back on track, but that was not the case in any way, shape, or form.

Dimi crashed out at the hands of English debutant Darren Beveridge by three sets to nil, averaging just over 80 as he picked up just the one leg in the match. It was a deeply disappointing end to a deeply disappointing year for the Belgian.

Niko Springer

Yet another grand shock of the tournament came in the match between Niko Springer and Joe Comito. However, it would be fair to say in this case that Comito did not need to pull off any major heroics to get over the line here.

Springer never seemed to settle in this one, both in terms of his performance and emotions as he lost 3-1 to the Australian.

Perhaps due to inexperience, a lack of maturity, or simply the occasion getting to him, the 25-year-old Springer seemed to get increasingly frustrated with every misplaced dart. The crowd at Ally Pally being on his back certainly did little to help on this front as Springer crashed out in relatively comfortable fashion.

Mike De Decker

Perhaps the story of the World Championship so far has been that of David Munyua. The Kenyan player, who only started playing darts three years ago, defied the odds and pulled off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport at the expense of Mike De Decker.

The Belgian’s year hasn’t quite gone as he had hoped after picking up his first ever major title in 2024. De Decker’s 2025 campaign has been massively inconsistent from start to finish, and he would have likely been ecstatic with his first-round draw at the World Championship with the opportunity to get settled under very little pressure or risk.

And that was exactly how it seemed to be going for the first two sets. De Decker wasn’t producing anything fantastic but found himself 2-0 up comfortably and looked to be cruising through.

In the next set, the Kenyan prevailed in a deciding leg to stay alive. In the fourth set, the story was the exact same, this time De Decker missing three darts for the match as Munyua levelled the tie. Suddenly, things weren’t looking so comfortable.

And whilst the numbers improved for Mike De Decker in the final set, the scoreline did not as a new Ally Pally hero was born in David Munyua, and the world no. 18 was sent home.

Michael Van Gerwen

The final entry on this list is a unique one as unlike the rest of the underperformers mentioned, Michael van Gerwen booked his place in round two with a 3-1 victory in the first round. However, things were not quite that straightforward.

Coming in as a three-time world champion and last year’s runner-up, Mighty Mike would have been expecting nothing in terms of resistance from 52-year-old Mitsuhiko Tatsunami.

And as much as he captured our hearts with his walk-on, those watching would have been thinking the exact same.

When Tatsunami took the first set however, things were suddenly looking very interesting. And then when the Japanese cult hero took a two-to-nil lead in legs in the second set, everyone had the same question on their mind. Could this really be happening?

Unfortunately, the fairytale ended abruptly as the world no. 3 came back to level the match at 1-1, before closing out the match from there and sending Tatsunami out. Even this came with difficulties for the Dutchman though, as Tatsunami missed nine set darts in the fourth set to level the match at 2-2.

As much as qualifying for the second round was the most important thing, Van Gerwen’s performance was anything but convincing.

Going into a second-round matchup against William O’Connor, who recorded the highest average in the first round, Michael Van Gerwen will need to find his brilliant best – and fast – to avoid a disappointing early exit.

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