Thibault Tricole has the honor of opening the 2025 World Darts Championships, which will take place on December 15. In the first match of the tournament, “The French Touch” will face Australian qualifier Joe Comito. The winner of this match will face current world champion Luke Humphries later in the evening.
This will be Tricole’s second participation in the competition PDC World Darts ChampionshipsLast year he was sent home in the second round after a 3-0 defeat to Rob Cross. The Frenchman realizes that once again there is no easy draw. “I will focus on the first (round), but I have to win to have that chance,” Tricole told AFP. “At every tournament you feel great enthusiasm, but at the world championships, like during the holiday season, I have the impression that every spectator experiences the event 200 percent. All keen and somewhat competitive gamers dream of taking part in this premier event.”
Darts never had a heyday in France, but with the emergence of players like Tricole and PDC Tour Card holder Jacques Labre, interest in the sport is growing. “You certainly don’t hear a child say, ‘I’m going to play darts,’” he admits.
Thibault Tricole in action
Therefore, when Tricole moved to Belgium to study as an architect, he also found benefits in his darts career. “Facing much stronger players than I could find in France,” he explains. “I had two or three really difficult years,” Tricole said of playing darts in a country where “it hasn’t made any media coverage and there are very few potential sponsors.”
“For 15 years, people have told me: ‘Oh yes, you play in bars, you drink beer’… But when I talk to top athletes, we speak the same language,” he sums up. “Even if I don’t put in the same effort in training (physically) as they do, mentally it’s clear that we’re on the same wavelength.”
