Live Darts on Saturday | World Series of Darts Finals 2026 Day Three Preview and Order of Play
The second round action takes centre stage at the 2026 World Series of Darts Finals on Saturday as a host of star names aim to progress to the latter stages.
The opening round saw defending champion Michael van Gerwen and fellow Premier League star Stephen Bunting dumped out of the competition, alongside the likes of Rob Cross and Callan Rydz.
Six of the eight seeds remain in contention for glory at the AFAS Live, with the format now extending as the tournament enters the business end.
The afternoon session sees world number two Luke Humphries step up his pursuit of a maiden World Series Finals title with a showdown against home hero Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Humphries, who picked up his third World Series title at the US Masters in June, saw off Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 on opening night and will be out to silence the partisan Dutch crowd once again.
Van Duijvenbode, runner-up here in 2022, survived an early scare from Sweden’s Viktor Tingström and is bidding for back-to-back wins over Humphries, having prevailed in the Hungarian Darts Trophy last month.
Dutch number one Gian van Veen is also poised for another rapturous reception when he comes up against Czechia’s Karel Sedlacek.
Van Veen is appearing at this stage of the competition for the first time, having demolished Chris Dobey in Round One, while Tour Card holder qualifier Sedlacek averaged 99.4 in an impressive 6-4 win over New Zealand’s Ben Robb.
The opening match of the afternoon sees Austrian Open champion Josh Rock face World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle.
Rock has endured a disappointing World Series campaign this year but went some way towards rectifying that by averaging 102 in a dramatic deciding-leg win over Bunting.
World number 13 Searle, meanwhile, averaged 97.6 in a dominant 6-2 success over Cross in what was his debut appearance in this event.
Ross Smith, twice a European Tour event winner in a stellar season so far, takes on a resurgent Daryl Gurney – who dethroned reigning champion Van Gerwen in a last-leg shootout after surviving a staggering six match darts.
The evening session sees Luke Littler look to remain on course for an unprecedented clean sweep of major titles in 2026 when he meets Nathan Aspinall.
Littler holds all available major televised silverware in 2026 so far, stretching his lead at the top of the world rankings to over £2 million in the process.
The back-to-back World Champion and World Matchplay winner is without defeat in major competition (outside of the Premier League) since last October’s European Championship and recently romped to a second European Tour title of the year at the Czech Darts Open.
The world number one defied the partisan Dutch crowd to overcome Danny Noppert 6-4 on Friday night despite missing 14 darts at doubles.
Aspinall is aiming to defy an ominous head-to-head record which has seen him win just three of his 20 previous meetings with Littler.
The former World Matchplay champion was beaten 11-8 by the teenager at the Winter Gardens in July but did register two of his wins on the World Series last year.
Former World Series Finals champion Gerwyn Price, meanwhile, aims to avoid a major upset at the hands of Canada’s Jim Long.
Price fended off a valiant mid-match revival from Brody Klinge to defeat the Australian Masters finalist 6-4 with a 99 average on Friday, while Long pulled off a magnificent comeback from 4-0 down to deny Adam Leek in a last-leg shootout.
Former champion James Wade aims to silence the home faithful by overcoming Wessel Nijman – an eight-time ranking event winner this season.
Wade, who is riding high after picking up both the Australian Masters and Flanders Darts Trophy titles in recent weeks, edged out Damon Heta in a deciding leg on Friday night, while Nijman averaged 98.2 in a 6-4 success over Simon Whitlock.
Jonny Clayton, the 2021 champion, looks to avoid a potential scalp at the hands of Japanese star Motomu Sakai.
Clayton came through a scrappy opening tie against Maik Kuivenhoven with an 89 average on Friday evening, while Sakai became the first Japanese player to win a match at the World Series Finals when he stunned Rydz in a deciding leg with a 97.4 average.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with second round ties to be contested over the best of 19 legs.
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World Series of Darts Finals 2026 Day Three Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Saturday September 19
Second Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Josh Rock v Ryan Searle
Daryl Gurney v Ross Smith
Gian van Veen v Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphries v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Jonny Clayton v Motomu Sakai
Gerwyn Price v Jim Long
James Wade v Wessel Nijman
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
