PDC World Championship 2026: Wright should retire – Van Gerwen

Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen says Peter Wright should retire following his emphatic defeat in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.

Two-time world champion Wright won just two legs and was averaged below 80 as he was surprisingly beaten by debutant Arno Merk on Tuesday.

Van Gerwen said he was “not surprised by the Scot’s performance” given his recent inconsistent record and added that “it is time for him to retire anyway”.

The 36-year-old Dutchman advanced to the third round by beating William O’Connor at Alexandra Palace.

Wright, the world champion in 2020 and 2022, has failed to advance past the quarter-finals of any televised ranking tournament in the past two years.

The 55-year-old last won a European Tour event in 2024 and the Players Championship in 2022.

Wright was not selected for the 2025 Premier League Darts season, failing to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time since 2012.

The Dutchman’s comments follow Wright’s last suggestion: Van Gerwen’s “vision is probably going away”., external