Live Darts on December 22nd | World Darts Championship 2025/26 Day 12 Preview and Order of Play

A host of major title winners return to the Alexandra Palace stage as the second round action continues at the World Darts Championship on Monday.

A further three seeds crashed out of the competition on Sunday, taking the overall tally to 12, and an array of box office stars will be out to safely book their place in the post-Christmas action.

The afternoon session features a showdown between ten-time major winner James Wade and crowd favourite Ricky Evans.

Wade is widely regarded as the greatest player yet to win a World Championship, having largely failed to find the formula on the sport’s greatest stage.

The 42-year-old, who made his BDO World Championship debut in 2003, has featured in every PDC World Championship since 2005, reaching the semi-finals on four occasions.

The Aldershot left-hander has finished runner-up in both the UK Open and World Matchplay this year and ended a four-year winless run at Ally Pally by overcoming Japan’s Ryusei Azemoto in straight sets.

Evans is making his 11th World Championship appearance, having reached the third round in four of his last six visits to Ally Pally.

Evans enjoyed a terrific run to the quarter-finals of last month’s Grand Slam despite defeat to Wade in the Group Stage and safely saw off Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung in straight sets on Day Two in the capital.

Kenyan trailblazer David Munyua makes his eagerly-awaited return to the stage to take on Dutch star Kevin Doets.

Munyua made history by becoming the first Kenyan ever to qualify for the PDC World Championship and went on to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history by defeating 2024 World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in a deciding set.

Munyua is now looking to repeat the feat and continue his dream debut, having captured the imagination of fans worldwide in what could prove to be a landmark moment for darts in Africa.

Doets, however, will be out to end that dream, having seen off Matthew Dennant 3-1 in his opener as he bids to follow up last year’s impressive run to the Last 16.

Doets’ fellow countryman Wessel Nijman faces a tough test against former World Championship semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens.

Nijman, twice a Players Championship event winner this season, produced one of the stand-out performances of the opening round as he averaged 101 in a straight sets rout of Karel Sedlacek.

Clemens was equally emphatic in sweeping aside Alex Spellman by the same scoreline for the loss of just one leg and is bidding to recapture the form which saw him become the first German to reach the semi-finals here three years ago.

The opening match of the afternoon sees Latvian number one Madars Razma face emerging Scottish star Darren Beverige.

Razma, a three-time ProTour event finalist, is looking to reach the Third Round for the third consecutive year, having seen off debutant Jamai van den Herik 3-1 in his opener.

Beveridge enjoyed an impressive bow on the Ally Pally stage by dumping out former World Matchplay champion Dimitri van den Bergh for the loss of just one leg and will be keen to continue in that ruthless vein.

Evening Session

Second seed Luke Humphries resumes his quest to regain the Sid Waddell Trophy with a box office tie against Singapore legend Paul Lim.

Lim famously defeated Humphries in the opening round behind closed doors in 2020/21 but now comes up against the all-conquering version of ‘Cool Hand’ – who has since captured eight major ranking titles.

World Champion two years ago, Humphries is defending £500,000 in prize money against his Order of Merit tally and began in commanding fashion by defeating Ted Evetts 3-1 with a 98.5 average.

The reigning Premier League champion suffered a shock exit to Peter Wright in the Last 16 here 12 months ago and will be determined to crush any hopes of an astonishing upset at the hands of history-maker Lim.

Lim broke his own record as the oldest player to compete in the PDC World Championship and at 71, became the oldest player to win a match at Ally Pally when he sensationally defeated Jeffrey De Graaf 3-1.

Nine-dart legend at Lakeside 35 years ago, ‘The Singapore Slinger’ is eyeing a place in the third round of the PDC World Championship for the first time and is the last-remaining Asian representative in the competition.

Meanwhile, former World Matchplay and UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall faces American ace Leonard Gates for the second successive year at Ally Pally.

Aspinall prevailed 3-1 at this stage of the competition 12 months ago and came through a nervy opener against Lourence Ilagan on Friday after dropping the first set.

Aspinall has romped to a hat-trick of European Tour titles this season, whilst also reaching the semi-finals of the Premier League and finishing runner-up in last month’s Players Championship Finals.

The Stockport star enjoyed a breakthrough run to the semi-finals on his World Championship debut in 2018/19 and repeated the feat 12 months later, before reaching the quarter-finals on New Year’s Day in 2025.

Gates came through a gruelling last-set decider against Mickey Mansell to reach the second round for the third consecutive year and now has his sights set on revenge to break new ground.

Reigning European Champion Gian van Veen also looks to reach the Last 32 of the World Championship for the first time at the expense of Scottish ace Alan Soutar.

Tenth seed Van Veen, who has also picked up a ProTour title this season, averaged 99 in a high quality 3-1 win over the returning Cristo Reyes in Round One.

Soutar, who has twice reached the Last 16 at Ally Pally, held his nerve in a nail-biting tie break to see off Finland’s Teemu Harju despite initially missing a staggering 15 match darts.

The final match of the evening sees rising Yorkshire star Charlie Manby take on Adam Sevada of the USA.

Manby exploded onto the sport’s biggest stage by twice recovering from a set down to defeat Cameron Menzies on debut, a match which was overshadowed by his opponent repeatedly punching the drinks table.

The 20-year-old, who qualified via the Development Tour Order of Merit after picking up a title this year, is out to replicate that impressive opening display which saw him average 90.6.

CDC star Sevada also enjoyed a memorable debut by knocking out Canadian number one Matt Campbell and is now just one of two North American hopefuls left standing in the event.

The action gets under way from 12.30pm GMT, with second round ties to be contested over the best of five sets, with a tie break in operation if the score reaches 2-2 in the final set.

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World Darts Championship 2025/26 Day 12 Schedule

Monday December 22

Second Round

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Darren Beveridge v Madars Razma
Wessel Nijman v Gabriel Clemens
David Munyua v Kevin Doets
James Wade v Ricky Evans

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Gian van Veen v Alan Soutar
Nathan Aspinall v Leonard Gates
Luke Humphries v Paul Lim
Charlie Manby v Adam Sevada