Saudi Arabia Darts Masters 2026 | Day Two Preview and Order of Play
The inaugural Saudi Arabia Darts Masters title is up for grabs on Tuesday as the final eight go head-to-head in Riyadh.
The lucrative new World Series event draws to a close at the Global Theater as seven PDC stars and one international representative compete to become the first champion.
Additionally, a staggering $100,000 remains up for grabs should any player hit a nine-darter, as well as a potential extra $100,000 if a bullseye is landed with the tenth dart thereafter.
The quarter-final line-up is headlined by a repeat of the World Championship final a fortnight ago as Luke Littler takes on Gian van Veen once again.
After Van Veen took the opening set, Littler romped to glory with seven sets on the spin to become only the fourth player in PDC history to retain the Sid Waddell Trophy.
The runaway world number one saw his 21-match unbeaten run in televised competition ended by Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals in Bahrain last week but recorded a second successive 6-1 rout of 71-year-old icon Paul Lim on his first outing in Riyadh.
However, the teenager seemingly struggled to adapt to the unique conditions in the venue, averaging just 89 and failing to hit a single 180 on opening night.
On the eve of his 19th birthday, Littler is searching for a fifth World Series title since 2024 as he bids to inflict more pain on the Dutch star.
Van Veen was forced to settle for second prize once again in Bahrain last week, losing out to compatriot Michael van Gerwen in the final, and will be determined to go one better in Riyadh and get one over on his recent nemesis Littler.
The world number three reeled off three consecutive legs to safely dispatch Japan’s Motomu Sakai 6-2 on Monday with a 94 average and is targeting a first win over Littler since last September’s Czech Darts Open.
The opening match of the evening sees Michael van Gerwen continue his bid for back-to-back World Series titles with a clash against fellow Premier League star Stephen Bunting.
Van Gerwen secured a record-extending 17th World Series title in Bahrain, averaging 101 in an 8-6 victory over Van Veen in the final, and started his campaign in Riyadh with a 6-1 rout of India’s Nitin Kumar.
Bunting, who saw his reign as Bahrain Masters champion ended by MVG at this stage last week, got off and running with a 6-1 thrashing of Tomoya Goto with an impressive six from nine on the doubles.
Former World Champions Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price do battle in the bottom half of the draw for the right to face Littler or Van Veen in the semi-finals later in the evening.
Humphries, who is gearing up for his World Masters title defence next week, secured his second World Series silverware at last year’s US Darts Masters in New York.
The world number two averaged 95.5 in a commanding 6-2 win over Ryusei Azemoto on opening night, while Price landed a crowd-pleasing 170 checkout en route to a 6-0 whitewash of Alexis Toylo with a 100.2 average.
Price, a four-time World Series event winner, was most recently beaten 16-13 by Humphries in the semi-finals of the Grand Slam last November.
Former UK Open and World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall looks to end the hopes of Hong Kong star Man Lok Leung.
Aspinall reached the semi-finals in Bahrain last Friday and started strongly in Saudi by averaging 101 in a 6-1 hammering of Lourence Ilagan.
Leung became the international representative to feature in the quarter-finals on the World Series this year after he dumped out Danny Noppert with a 6-3 success despite 15 missed darts at doubles.
The action gets under way from 4pm GMT, with quarter-final ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs, semi-finals best of 13 and the final best of 15.
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Saudi Arabia Darts Masters 2026 Day Two Schedule
All times GMT (local time +3 hours)
Tuesday January 20
4pm-8pm
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
Nathan Aspinall v Man Lok Leung
Gian van Veen v Luke Littler
Gerwyn Price v Luke Humphries
Semi-Finals
Van Gerwen/Bunting v Aspinall/Leung
Van Veen/Littler v Price/Humphries
Final
