Martin Lukeman qualified for the second round of the 2025 elections PDC World Darts Championships. The 39-year-old Englishman recovered from the defeat against the Indian qualifiers Nitin Kumar 3-1 in their first match and will now face the 21st seed Andrew Gilding.
Lukeman lost the first set anyway, but then won three sets in a row and finally won quite comfortably 3:1. “I’m done, that’s the main goal. I just have to survive,” Lukeman said when speaking to the assembled darts media afterwards. “I haven’t been feeling well for the last week, I’ve been down. But listen, I got the job done today, so I can get some exercise now.”
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Lukeman reached the final of the Grand Slam of Darts a month ago. As such, it understandably comes to Pally’s ally high level of self-confidence. “How many outsiders were there this year? Or how many outsiders have gone far? Jermaine Wattimena, me, Ritchie Edhouse, Mike de Decker, so why not? (Take a deep dive into the World Cup, Ed.),” Lukeman asks. “It’s an open game now. If both Lukes come out, the game continues!”
Away from the board, however, Lukeman had bigger concerns, which almost led the Englishman to early retirement. “Tomorrow my wife has a serious operation. So I’ll have to take care of her, cook her dinner. But we can do it,” he explains. “I was going to quit darts at the beginning of last year, but my wife said no.”
Lukeman will face Andrew Gilding in the second round. “I know what to expect, he’s methodical, but he’s a high-quality player,” Lukeman announces. “But I will beat Gilding and be back after Christmas.”
