Darts World Cup at Alexandra Palace
The last German is out: Merk fails because of Superstar
Updated 12/29/2025 – 7:57 a.mReading time: 5 minutes
First Kim Huybrechts, then Peter Wright. Arno Merk is one of the biggest surprises of the Darts World Cup. But he couldn’t get past Michael van Gerwen.
The Darts World Cup will now take place without German players. The last remaining player, Arno Merk, was eliminated late on Sunday evening. The favorites, who had previously thrown out Kim Huybrechts and Peter Wright, lost 1:4 to superstar Michael van Gerwen.
The Dutchman was superior almost the entire time and impressed with an average of 99.7 and a double rate of 50 percent. Merk, on the other hand, only achieved an average of 90.88. In the third set he showed his qualities and beat van Gerwen. But the German outsider lacked the consistency to overthrow “Mighty Mike”.
“You can feel an aura of MvG. I couldn’t play so freely. It was a bit more oppressive,” Merk said afterwards on DAZN. Nevertheless, the German was satisfied with his performance at the World Cup. Van Gerwen now faces Gary Anderson in the round of 16.
Merk 1:4 (1:3, 0:3, 3:1, 1:3, 1:3) van Gerwen
5th set, 4th leg – And that’s victory for Michael van Gerwen! The Dutchman doesn’t even need a good score, but Merk’s pressure is just barely there. Van Gerwen gets two shots to come up with a finish. He opts for double 18. With the second match dart it works!
5th set, 3rd leg – That’s not it in London! Merk gets her own kick-off leg again, but shows no emotion. He probably hardly believes in the change anymore.
5th set, 2nd leg – The “Ally Pally” is pretty quiet because the match has now tipped very much to one side again. If Merk was still at eye level in the third set, he couldn’t maintain that level.
5th set, 1st leg – In set three Merk’s average was 101, down to 86. He has to deliver now. But the scoring is not good enough when you throw it yourself. Van Gerwen sets double 16 for the break – and hits with the first dart.
4th set, 4th leg – Merk unfortunately lets up a bit and can’t take advantage of van Gerwen’s mistakes. The pressure on “Mighty Mike” is too low. The Dutchman gets the break and with it the set. It’s going to be very difficult to get it now.
4th set, 3rd leg – Van Gerwen has a surprising number of problems in the finishing area and misses a few doubles. Merk gets the chance to break, but can’t use it. Van Gerwen’s eighth dart at double then hits.