Michael Unterbuchner could have qualified as another German player for the Darts World Championship. However, the Bavarian narrowly missed the ticket to London.
The sensation was within reach: German darts player Michael Unterbuchner missed his first-time qualification for the Darts World Championship (starting December 11 LIVE on SPORT1 ) by the narrowest of margins.
In the 24th and final tournament of the Challenge Tour, the Bavarian was defeated in the quarterfinals by Dutch player Jurjen van der Velde with a score of 4:5. This loss had serious consequences: Due to the simultaneous victory of competitor Mervyn King, Unterbuchner dropped from the crucial fourth place to fifth place in the overall standings—thus missing out on the World Championship ticket.
Instead of Unterbuchner, the 2009 World Championship semifinalist will now head to the season’s highlight at Ally Pally. For the 59-year-old King, this marks his 17th participation in a PDC World Championship—and his first since 2023.
Particularly bitter for Unterbuchner: King himself was on the verge of elimination in the quarterfinals. Opponent Cocks Lee missed three match darts before King ultimately won the match 5:4, decisively overtaking Unterbuchner in the rankings.
Before the final tournament of the Challenge Tour, Unterbuchner had been in fourth place in the overall standings. Normally, the top three qualify for the World Championship, but since the second-placed Darius Labanauskas had already qualified via the Pro Tour, fourth place would have sufficed this time.
The upcoming World Championship edition will be held for the first time with 128 players. Among others, the top 40 of the Order of Merit are automatically qualified. Germany’s number one, Martin Schindler, currently holds 16th place, while Ricardo Pietreczko is 31st in the world rankings.