"Is it my fault I’ve qualified for 2 World Championships?" – Jenson Walker devastated by WDF/ADC ultimatum as fans claim "Amateur darts continues to shoot itself in the foot"
WDFTuesday, 04 November 2025 at 12:00
Young English talent Jenson Walker has spoken out after being forced to make what he described as a “gutting” decision between the 2025 WDF World Championship at Lakeside and the ADC Global Championship — the two biggest events outside of the PDC system.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 19-year-old, who secured his Lakeside qualification in Budapest last week, took to social media to express frustration at being placed in what he called an “ultimatum no dart player away from the PDC Pro Tour should ever have to go through.”
“It’s been a really frustrating seven days for myself,” Walker wrote. “I’ve worked my backside off to qualify for the Globals through the Modus system and the amount of travelling and hard work I’ve done to get myself to Lakeside has been huge as well."
“For the system to not be able to work around three people playing in both is bitterly disappointing. I’ll never know if I’ve made the right decision, but I’ve chosen to play at Lakeside. Is it really my fault I’ve qualified to play in two World Championships?”
Walker admitted the decision had been “mentally gruelling”, adding that he was “devastated” to have to turn down any world championship. Despite the disappointment, he confirmed his focus has now turned to Lakeside, where he faces Czech thrower Jiri Brejcha in the opening round, with David Fatum awaiting the winner.
The Lincolnshire youngster, who represents Target Darts, The Sportsman Management Company, and Lincolnshire County Darts, thanked his sponsors, family, and friends for their support during what he described as “a difficult week to endure.”
“I’m very excited to grace that Lakeside stage in my first men’s world championship,” he added. “Everybody who supports me deserved to know the situation I’ve been placed in. I won’t be mentioning it again, but it’s been an unbelievably tough decision.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Walker in action at the UK Open
Fans rally behind Walker amid ‘shambles’ of scheduling clash
Walker’s heartfelt post quickly gained traction among darts fans, with many notable names on darts social media voicing anger over the sport’s fractured structure outside the PDC.
Jetze Jan Idsardi wrote: “It’s such a shame that, after the death of the BDO, the world of darts still hasn’t found a way to unite. Players shouldn’t be punished just because certain individuals are too egocentric. Jenson made the right decision here: it’s crazy that he even had to choose.”
Ben Hudd was similarly scathing: “Amateur darts continues to shoot itself in the foot and Jenson Walker is amongst the players who suffer from those absurd decisions.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, Josh Pearson summed up the frustration shared by many: “Absolute shambles. If they’re not prepared to let him play, I’d be asking to be compensated for the amount of money spent to be able to travel and qualify.”
A wider problem for non-PDC darts
The row between the WDF and ADC calendars has thrown the ongoing divide in the amateur game back into the spotlight. Both organisations have made significant strides in rebuilding competitive pathways since the collapse of the BDO, yet a lack of cooperation continues to leave players like Walker caught in the middle.
With more than just Walker having qualified for both the WDF World Championship and ADC Global Series Finals, the refusal to accommodate scheduling overlap has been widely condemned by those online as short-sighted.
ADVERTISEMENT
For Walker, though, the focus now shifts to what should be a milestone moment — his debut at the WDF World Championship. Whether the two organisations learn from the fallout remains to be seen, but the 19-year-old’s heartfelt post has struck a chord with a community increasingly weary of seeing its own progress undermined.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Need to see her take part in the womens tour. She'll break the inernet.medinabello08-09-2026
- 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
Loading
