These are the five biggest absentees from the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship
PDC
The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship promises to be another darting spectacle. The field of participants consists of 96 of the very best in the world, but as happens every year, there are some prominent names who are conspicuous by their absence.
According to Dartsnews.com, these are the five best-known darters who will have to miss this year's prestigious darting extravaganza at the Alexandra Palace...
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It's not a surprise, but like last year, Adrian Lewis is once again absent from the World Darts Championship. 'Jackpot' took a temporary break from darts back in April 2023 and did not play a single PDC tournament this season. Lewis will not be there next year either, but the darter from Stoke-on-Trent has announced his comeback at the MODUS Super Series. It remains a shame that a darter of his caliber is not competing at the World Darts Championship. With two world titles and a historic nine-darter in the 2011 World final, Lewis is one of the modern icons in the sport of darts.
This iconic darter is also sadly absent. Simon Whitlock is missing this year after a disappointing season. The experienced Australian darter, finalist at the 2010 World Darts Championship, was renowned for his trademark goatee and long ponytail plus guaranteed spectacular finishes in his heyday. This year, "The Wizard" could not produce consistent results on the Pro Tour though, and as a result, is set to lose his Tour Card.
Mervyn King, a veteran darts player with numerous World Championship appearances, failed to qualify for the darts' calendar's main event this year. King, who reached the semifinals of the 2009 World Championship at Alexandra Palace, proved himself a consistent player on the tour for many years, but since 2023, things have gone downhill for 'The King'. At the 2022 World Darts Championship, the Englishman was still a surprising quarterfinalist, but barely three years later, King is absent from Ally Pally for the second year running.
Steve Beaton stood on the World Darts Championship stage for 33 years in a row, but in his farewell year, the charismatic Englishman has failed to qualify for the most important tournament of the year. During the last World Championship, Beaton announced that 2024 was going to be his last season on the PDC Tour. His results on the Pro Tour were not enough to force World Championship participation for the 34th time. Next year, though, "The Bronzed Adonis" will be on display at the World Seniors Darts Championship. Beaton played at Lakeside from 1992 through 2001, where he became world champion in 1996. At the PDC, Beaton was a lot less successful in his 23 participations. Only at the 2004 and 2020 editions did he reach the last sixteen.
Looking purely at the rankings, Jose de Sousa is the biggest absentee from the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship. The world number 40 is the highest ranked player who did not qualify for the conclusion of the season. Especially at the Players Championship tournaments, the Portuguese failed. In 19 of the 30 floor tournaments he was eliminated in the first round. De Sousa participated in the World Darts Championship for the first time at the 2012 edition, but only returned in 2019. After that, 'The Special One' competed six times in a row, with a spot in the last sixteen in 2023 as his best result.
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