Chris Dobey wins at Wembley as Van Gerwen suffers more pre-World Darts Championship disappointment
PDCMonday, 08 December 2025 at 10:07
Chris Dobey capped off a strong night of MODUS darts at Wembley’s Boxpark by defeating Michael van Gerwen 6–2, adding to the Dutchman’s increasingly shaky run of exhibition results in the final days before the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.
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Held inside the events venue attached to the iconic Wembley Stadium complex, the night featured a string of showcase matches between headline names — but it was Dobey who stole the spotlight. He opened with a 3–1 victory over Simon Whitlock and closed the evening in commanding style against Van Gerwen.
Dobey sharp, Van Gerwen’s warm-up woes continue
Van Gerwen had earlier edged Wayne Mardle 3–2, but when he returned to face Dobey he was well off the pace. It continued a difficult 48 hours for the three-time World Champion, who also lost twice the previous night in Norwich — first to Luke Littler and then to Karel Sedlacek in a challenge match.
Elsewhere at Wembley, English teenager Jayden Walker impressed by beating Peter Wright 3–2, though Wright bounced back with a 5–0 whitewash of Whitlock later in the evening.
Exhibition season ramps up before Ally Pally
This stretch of the calendar is packed with exhibition nights, used by many top players to stay sharp while enjoying more relaxed match conditions. They offer a blend of competitive rhythm, fan engagement, and a useful payday — all without the pressure of the tour.
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For Dobey, Wembley marked another encouraging outing heading into the festive showpiece. For Van Gerwen, it was another reminder that his pre-tournament form remains far from settled.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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