With the ADC Global Championships just around the corner, Darts World kicks off its group-by-group guide to the tungsten extravaganza.
Eight groups. Seven players each. All dreaming of eternal glory, or at least a nice social media post holding a trophy – just like Big Dev Petersen was with this particular beauty last time out.
Now, these aren’t yet the household darting megastars like Littler, Humphries, or Van Gerwen. But don’t let that fool you – this lot can play. And there are some stars from yesterday which will appear throughout this series I am bringing you.
So, let’s meet the group one arrow-smiths:
Roland Lenngren (SWE)
With Finnish flinger, Petri Rasmus* opting instead to perform at Lakeside, Lenngren grabbed his opportunity for a trip to Portsmouth with open arms. Approaching 60-years old, the Swede is quite the veteran but that also constitutes experience. However, it’s his figures which are going to be his stumbling block and regularly chalking up 65-75 averages won’t cutt much ice.
Callum Goffin (WAL)
A Welsh plasterer who’s handy with tungsten… sound familiar? I am sure we’ve had one of those before. This one however has flown the nest and is now based in Morecambe, sharing the postcode with Chizzy and Tyson Fury.
Goffin, 29, plays under Mission Darts and has a WDF title to his name: the Torremolinos Classic. I’ve no idea where that’s held, but I’ll bet the post-match analysis is poolside. He’s got talent too – fired a nine-darter against Jelle Klaasen at a Players Championship last year. If he can bottle that kind of form, he could quietly make some noise here.
Mladen Radosavljevic (SER)
You don’t need Google Translate to know this lad’s Serbian. Nicknamed Djomla, which probably means something cool in his native tongue (or possibly just “throws darts well”). The 29-year-old Bulls player has a career-high major average just north of 75, so he’s not exactly keeping top ‘seeds’ up at night. Still, darts can be gloriously unpredictable – it wouldn’t be the first time a sportsman from Belgrade has taken the world by storm – ain’t that right Novak?
Timothy Verbrugghe (BEL)
At 33, Timothy is young-ish in darting terms – still plenty of time to hit his stride. As for silverware, not much to report yet, but in a format like this, one purple patch can turn into a passport to the knockouts. Maybe not where the wise money goes if looking for a winner but Belgium has decent darting pedigree as you are about to discover.
Not much more I can tell you apart from, if you’re his mate, then get shopping for an anniversary gift – together with his wife July, they will be celebrating ten years of marriage in February.
Xanti Van den Bergh (BEL)
Now here’s a Van den Bergh you may have heard of – just not that one. Xanti, 21, is the third of four darting sons of former Belgian international Chris Van den Bergh. His brother Dimitri, of course, has a couple of PDC majors to his name. But fun fact: Xanti’s actually the most recent title winner in the family, having picked up the WDF Swedish Open last summer.
Xanti is young, fearless, and the pedigree’s there. I’d certainly fancy him to come out of this group and have a proper run. Getting better by the week this kid.
Johnny Haines (ENG)
Nicknamed The Punk, Johnny has been around long enough to have his name on a few dartboards – literally. Now 61, he’s been a regular fixture on the circuit for decades, once throwing a nine-darter (like Goffin) against Jelle Klaasen.
He made his one and only Ally Pally appearance about ten years ago but has hit the oche eleven times at the UK Open – most recently in 2024.
A seasoned campaigner who’s seen it all, thrown it all, and probably still has the leather jacket to prove it. A true representative of amateur darts.
Wes Newton (ENG)
And finally, a familiar face – Wes “The Warrior” Newton. Once a top-10 player and Premier League regular, he’s got five Players Championship titles, two televised finals (UK Open and European Championships), and a fanbase that still remembers when Blackpool could boast two darting legends – Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ Baxter famously being the other one.
Now 48 and living in nearby Fleetwood, Wes might not hit the peaks he once did, but underestimate him at your peril. He still hits big scores, still has the swagger, and in this group? He’s the man to beat.
Verdict:Group 1 is a perfect mix of youth, experience, and “how on earth did you get that nickname?”
Expect fireworks, drama, and possibly an upset or two – because if darts has taught us anything, it’s that reputations don’t win matches… doubles do.
*Petri Rasmus (FIN) Originally from Karigasniemi and now living in Aura – if that means anything to you, congratulations, you’re either Finnish or terrifyingly good at European geography. Petri (which, fun fact, is the Finnish version of Peter) works for Posti, which, without stating the obvious should tell you his line of work. At 47, he’s got experience, composure, and had a tough decision – he’s drawn reigning WDF World Champion Shane McGuirk at Lakeside and apparantly, he can’t have both cakes and eat them. Like Jenson Walker, he had to pick between tournaments. Our advice would have been to stick with this one – and not just because plane tickets to England are cheaper than redemption stories.
Players can afford to have an off-day in one or two group games – against the reigning Irish champ on the Lakeside stage, that luxury won’t be there.
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Images: ADC
