PDC World Darts Championship 2026: James Wade wins but Raymond van Barneveld knocked out
Englishman James Wade began his PDC World Darts Championship campaign with a 3-0 triumph over Ryusei Azemoto, while Raymond van Barneveld suffered a shock first-round exit.
Five-time world champion Van Barneveld looked out of sorts as he went down in straight sets to Stefan Bellmont, the first Swiss winner at Alexandra Palace.
Seventh seed Wade only let one leg slip in a dominant victory against Japan’s Azemoto.
“Tonight showed the practice I’ve been doing. It wasn’t spectacular but when I really needed to hit something, it happened,” said four-time semi-finalist Wade.
He finished with an average of 94.75, compared to Azemoto’s 84.42, and the 42-year-old will take on Ricky Evans in the second round on Monday.
Van Barneveld looked a shadow of the player who won four BDO world titles before lifting the PDC crown in 2007.
The 58-year-old Dutchman took the opening leg but then lost eight in succession.
Despite a higher average than his opponent, he checked out just 25% of his doubles while Bellmont hit 39%.
American debutant Adam Sevada came out on top in the the first game on Wednesday, seeing off Canadian Matt Campbell 3-1.
It was tight for much of their encounter but Sevada’s marginally better performance on doubles made the difference as he won 11 legs to Campbell’s six.