Jermaine Wattimena got off to an excellent start in the 2025 Darts World Cup. The Machine Gun defeated the Swiss Stefan Bellmont 3-0 in his opening game and achieved an average of 98.54. Wattimena will return to action this afternoon when he faces 16th seed James Wade.
“I'm very satisfied. The fact that I had to play on opening night added extra pressure. I was a bit nervous in the first set, but after that I was much more relaxed on stage and played with a lot of confidence,” said Wattimena.
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At the European Championships at the end of October, Wattimena reached the final, where he ultimately lost to Ritchie Edhouse. It was the first major final of Wattimena's career. “It made me come to the World Cup with more confidence than ever before. My mentality has changed enormously this year and I am now reaping the benefits of this development. I spoke to a few people before the beginning of this year about what I needed to make a change to get my career back on track and it worked, so I'm very grateful to them for that.
Duel against Wade
The 36-year-old Dutchman has little time to rest as he is back in action this afternoon. In the last game of the afternoon session, Wattimena will face James Wade. Their last meeting dates back to the last European Championships, where Wattimena was too strong for his English opponents 10-9 in the second round.
“But this game doesn't count now and I'm sure he won't think about it either. James is a very strong opponent, but he will have to be at his best level to beat me. In any case, it's a match I'm looking forward to with confidence.
By Nic Gayer
