"He has to play his best game to beat me" - Jermaine Wattimena is ready to make James Wade first big name casualty at 2025 World Darts Championship

Jermaine Wattimena got off to an excellent start at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship. The Machine Gun defeated Swiss debutant Stefan Bellmont 3-0 in his opening match with an average of 98.54. Wattimena will return to action this Monday afternoon when he takes on 16th-seeded James Wade.

Wattimena particularly impressed at Alexandra Palace. "I'm really happy with the performance, so I go with a good feeling to tomorrow against James Wade," Wattimena assessed in his post-match press conference, admitting that playing on the opening night didn't make things easy. "Yeah, it added a bit more pressure."

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In late October, Wattimena made it to the final at the European Championship, where he eventually lost to Ritchie Edhouse. It was the first major final of Wattimena's career and the Dutchman then backed that up with deep runs at the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals. As such, he arrives at the Ally Pally with confidence flowing. “I think this has been my best ever year, so James Wade has to prepare himself for tomorrow... he has to play his best game to beat me,” he explains. “I was really happy with that performance tonight, and now I will go into tomorrow with a good feeling. I think I’m more confident going into this tournament than I have ever been.”

As mentioned, the 36-year-old Dutchman has little time to rest, as he is already back in action this afternoon. In the last match of the Monday afternoon session Wattimena will take on Wade. Their last meeting dates to the recent European Championship, where Wattimena was too strong for his English opponent in the second round, 10-9 en route to the final.

“I can take a lot of confidence from beating James [in Dortmund]," Wattimena says, noting how 'The Machine' wasn't the only big name to fall to him at the European Championship. "And then I beat the world number one [Luke Humphries], so then you know your confidence is good."

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