NOS Sport•
The opportunities were there, but Wesley Plaisier did not manage to reach the third round of the World Darts Championship. The South Hollander lost 3-1 to Peter Wright in the second round.
The Scot with the colored mohawk won the world championship of the BDC darts association twice, in 2020 and 2022, but dropped considerably after his last world title.
Number 73
The 34-year-old Plaisier, number 73 in the PDC ranking, seemed to have thrown off the tension after his victory in the first round. He was able to score with ‘Snakebite’ Wright in the first set. When push came to shove, Plaisier faltered and snapped at Wright.
The Scot struck in the fifth leg of the first set, opened by Plaisier, and escaped in the second set. The South Hollander received no fewer than eight arrows to decide the set in his favor, but could not hit the decisive double. A resurrection from the Dutchman in sets three (3-0 for Plaisier) and four ultimately did not bother Wright as Plaisier continued to miss decisive arrows.
In the third round, Wright pushed Jermaine Wattimena, who knocked out sixteenth-seeded Briton James Wade in the second round.
De Graaf continues
Earlier in the evening, Jeffrey de Graaf faced Rashad Sweeting in the first round, the first darts player from the Bahamas on a major international stage such as the World Cup.
De Graaf, who lives with his girlfriend in Sweden and plays for the Scandinavian country, had more difficulty than expected with Sweeting. who won the first set and led 2-0 in the second. But 34-year-old De Graaf, who is participating in the World Cup for the fourth time, turned the match around, still won 3-1 and will now play against Scot Gary Anderson in the second round on Sunday.
With the elimination (3-2) of England’s Fallon Sherrock by her compatriot Ryan Meickle, the last woman disappeared from the tournament. Earlier in the evening, Noa-Lynn van Leuven already flew out. The first Dutch player ever at the World Cup lost 3-1 against Kevin Doets.
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