Kim Huybrechts bitterly disappointed after World Championship exit: "It’s hard to think about the future right now, this is very painful"

For the third year in a row, the World Darts Championship ended for Kim Huybrechts after just one match. The 38-year-went down 1–3 on Thursday evening against German debutant Arno Merk, a result that raised eyebrows at Ally Pally and left Huybrechts himself deeply disappointed.

The experienced Belgian arrived in London with no pressure this year: no prize money to defend and in fine form in recent months. But once the lights came on at Alexandra Palace, it again showed how fickle a World Championship can be. Huybrechts started convincingly, nearly hit a 180 right away and took the opening leg, but his level then dipped. Merk, visibly nervous in his debut leg, quickly regrouped and edged the first set in a deciding leg.

From that moment Huybrechts was chasing. Merk was unflappable and posted an average well over 102 in the second set, while the Belgian struggled to maintain his scoring. In no time it was 0–2 in sets, after which a cursing and frustrated Huybrechts left the stage. He had not envisaged this scenario at all beforehand.

The third set gave him a brief lifeline. With a neat 113 checkout on double 18 he got back in touch, and thanks to a strong deciding leg he stayed in the tournament. The signal for a potential comeback was there, but Merk was not rattled. In the fourth set the German pushed again. Huybrechts missed a crucial break chance on 87 and soon after saw Merk seal the match on double 8.

The defeat means another early exit and also delivers a painful blow to Huybrechts on the world rankings. Afterwards the Belgian was clearly shaken and did not look for excuses. “What happened? It just wasn’t good,” he told VTM. “I threw poorly and he was better.”

He answered the question of whether he tightened up without hesitation. “I was tense because it wasn’t good. I had a bad feeling, even during the warm-up. I can be very negative now, but that helps nothing. I didn’t have a free feeling in my arm.”

Huybrechts admitted he had barely any control over his game. “I didn’t pay attention to my opponent’s level, it was simply a poor match from both. A lot of darts missed the board. I had a lot of stress and felt my shoulder too. It’s just a disappointment.”

Remarkable, because in recent months Huybrechts seemed to be on the rise again. But that once more didn’t translate to the Worlds. “I was in good form, but it has to happen on the stage. For some reason that hasn’t worked for me for the last four to five years. In practice I throw fantastically, and at Belgian tournaments too, but not here.”

He is putting future plans on hold for now. “It’s hard to think about the future right now, I need to process this. I’m going to spend the holidays at home, much earlier than expected. This is very painful,” he concluded.