Kenyan debutant David Munyua caused a major upset at the PDC World Championship, coming back from two sets down to beat world number 18 Mike de Decker in a thrilling end to Thursday’s afternoon session.
Although Munyua had performed well in his first appearance at Alexandra Palace, an upset seemed extremely unlikely as the Belgian closed to within a set of victory.
Munyua, who works as a veterinarian, missed the darts to win the second set, did the same in the third but came back to win it, beat the fourth and fought back to win the match in the fifth.
The 30-year-old, who qualified through the African Darts Group Qualifier, lost his serve in the first leg of the decider, but produced a stunning outside finish of 20 targets 135 to level it, before holding his nerve to complete the victory.
In his onstage interview after the match, Munyua described his victory as “unbelievable” and said it was “a very big moment for sport, for Africa and for Kenya.”
Former BDO world champion Mark Webster said on Sky Sports: “This is what the World Championship is all about. Forget the stats in terms of grand averages – there was drama throughout.”
“David had a great performance. That shows that we are going global with this sport.”
The defeat continued De Decker’s disappointing record at the World Championship, as the 2024 World Grand Prix winner has yet to advance beyond the last 16 in six appearances at Alexandra Palace.
