“I hope it’s not Bambi again after two visits” – Van der Voort wants to see a fired-up Van Barneveld in the World Darts Championship opening match

The World Darts Championship has only just begun, but day six immediately showed why this tournament delivers drama, hope, disappointment, and unexpected stories every year. In the latest episode of the WK Darts Draait Door podcast, Damian Vlottes and Vincent van der Voort take their time to dissect the afternoon and evening sessions from Tuesday, 12/16/2025.

The episode opens with one of the biggest shocks of the Worlds so far. Niko Springer, tipped as a player who could go deep, is out. Van der Voort didn’t hide his disappointment. “Our good friend Niko Springer. Unbelievable. Yeah, absolutely gutted. I had him as captain in my Fantasy Darts team. That’s great, isn’t it. I deleted my team straight away. Straight in the bin,” he said with a laugh.

They then shift into a more serious analysis. Springer looked nervous, rushed, and lacked composure. “He seemed very nervous. Very hurried. But yes, that can happen of course. It’s his first time. Big talent, he’s shown that this year. But at a Worlds like this you see he wasn’t ready yet.”

The standard of the match didn’t help. Both players finished around an 83 average. The key moments were scrappy on both sides: poor decisions, missed doubles, and a finish where Springer, at a crucial point, “just needed to throw a big six.” “That was basically the peak. The most important moment of the match, and you slam it in there.”

The afternoon started with a swingy tussle. Alan Soutar looked on course for a routine win against Teemu Harju. “He played really well in the first two sets. You’re thinking: right, he’s about to post the best tournament average.” But then he wobbled. Match darts went begging and tension crept in. “If you miss 15, 16 match darts… yeah, then it becomes something.”

Chris Dobey impressed less despite a solid win. “With Dobey it’s often only fun when he plays a really good opponent. Then he can make it tough. But when he has to play a match like this… it often comes across a bit uninterested and dull.”

Very different was the debut of Justin Hood, who beat Nick Kenny convincingly with an average around a hundred. “A cracking lad. Really a nice guy. Completely in love with darts. He thinks everything that’s happening is brilliant.”

Another ever-reliable entertainer remains Scott Williams. Opinions are split, but Van der Voort clearly enjoyed his game. “Those are players you can always put in a session. Something always happens.”

His theatrics aren’t to everyone’s taste, but Van der Voort believes it belongs. “I do like players who are a bit different. It adds something.” At the same time, he is realistic about Williams’ level. “When you see him walk onto the stage… you think: that’s a world-beater. He isn’t. Not yet.”

In the evening, José de Sousa lost 3-1 to German Ricardo Pietreczko. Is this the beginning of the end? Van der Voort isn’t sure. “It’s not like he’s playing really badly. He’s just lost it a bit.” De Sousa is trying to rediscover his old feel, but is only making his throw more complicated. “That feeling will never come back. So you have to do it a bit differently now.”

Gerwyn Price, by contrast, looked solid against Adam Gawlas, who disappointed badly. “A 79 average. Then you can never really trouble Price.” Despite many missed doubles in the second set, Van der Voort mainly saw that the Welshman looked tidy.

“If you’re already doing this in the first round against someone who doesn’t show up, then I think we’re going to see a lot of good things from Gerwyn Price.”

The highlight of the night came with the Frisian clash between Danny Noppert and Jurjen van der Velde. Van der Velde was overwhelmed already at the walk-on.

“He became emotional in the moment. Later he said that as a child he always wanted to stand there. Then he realised he was there.” Van der Voort briefly feared a quick exit. But Van der Velde surprised. “At first I thought it wouldn’t be anything, but when he started I thought: wow! He sold his skin dearly and made it tough for Noppert.” He even joked about a new nickname for the Dutchman: “Maybe we can give him a new nickname: The Tissue,” he laughed, before turning serious. “No, we can joke about it, but it means a lot to him.”

Noppert struggled, made life difficult for himself at times, but ultimately showed his class. “You can see he simply belongs among the world’s best. He keeps going.”

Finally, attention turns to Wednesday evening and especially to Raymond van Barneveld. The expectations are clear. “I hope it’s not Bambi again after two visits.” Van der Voort wants to see a sharp, driven, and focused ‘Barney’. “Those eyebrows storming and that edge. That he makes it clear there’s nothing to gain.”

The first round is viewed as a barometer. “There you can see what kind of form he’s in. I don’t believe he suddenly changes a lot in a few days.” Yet the belief in his class remains. “The talent is still there. He’s actually still good enough for that.”