Darts World Cup in London
German debutant wins: “Take the pub apart”
12/11/2025 – 10:07 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Arno Merk is taking part in the Darts World Cup for the very first time and played the opening game. The German celebrated a clear victory.
Arno Merk scored an opening win against the Belgian Kim Huybrechts on his debut at the Darts World Cup in London. The 33-year-old from Peine won 3-1 at Alexandra Palace and will now face either former world champion Peter Wright or Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Merk, who was the eighth and last German to qualify for the Darts World Cup, dominated the game against Huybrechts, a former quarter-finalist, for long stretches. He particularly impressed in the second leg with the first 180 of this year’s PDC World Championship. “It was a lot louder than I thought. It’s crazy,” said Merk after his debut victory on Sport1. Everything was “already overwhelming,” but he remained “pretty cool.” Merk Wright’s next opponent would be “that would be a super special game.” A party was announced later on Thursday evening: “We’re tearing a pub apart.”
The second German participant is former World Cup semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens; the Saarwellingen native will be in action in the evening session on Saturday. The first round of the tournament extends until December 19th. The world champion will receive a winner’s check for one million pounds and a total of five million pounds will be paid out, which is record prize money.