Live Darts on Friday | World Grand Prix 2026 Day Five Preview and Order of Play
The final eight face off at the 2026 World Grand Prix in Leicester on Friday as they bid to keep their double-start title hopes alive.
Five of the top six seeds remaining in the running for the record £150,000 top prize at the Mattioli Arena, alongside a former finalist and two unseeded hopefuls.
The quarter-final line-up consists of four former winners of this title, including 2023 champion Luke Humphries – who faces a showdown with Dutch debutant Niels Zonneveld.
The world number two is bidding to reach the final of this event for the fourth consecutive year, having finished runner-up in his last two outings.
Humphries is yet to drop a set en route to the quarter-finals, safely seeing off Dave Chisnall 2-0 and Jermaine Wattimena 3-0, converting 74 per cent of his double-in attempts and missing just five darts at doubles when checking out on Thursday night.
Zonneveld is appearing in a first major ranking quarter-final and a first televised quarter-final since 2021 after pulling off terrific wins over seventh seed Josh Rock and tenth seed Gary Anderson, surging into the world’s top 32 in the process.
Meanwhile, a mouth-watering all-Welsh clash sees World Cup team-mates Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton collide.
This will be the 46th meeting between the pair in PDC competition, with Price having prevailed on 30 occasions to date, most recently an 11-7 success in the semi-finals of last week’s World Series of Darts Finals.
Clayton claimed his first, and to date only, major ranking title courtesy of victory over Price in the 2021 World Grand Prix final and is featuring in his third consecutive quarter-final here following wins over Krzysztof Ratajski and Wessel Nijman.
Price clinched this title behind closed doors in 2020 before finishing runner-up in 2021 and 2023, and has continued the form which led him to the final of last week’s World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.
The number four seed is yet to concede a set this week, having averaged 101.6 in seeing off debutant Sebastian Bialecki, before avenging his defeat to Ross Smith in the World Series Final with a 3-0 rout.
Two-time champion James Wade faces Gian van Veen in a repeat of their quarter-final clash in July’s World Matchplay.
Van Veen took the spoils with a 16-13 triumph in Blackpool, as well as in the quarter-finals of the World Masters back in February, though Wade has won nine of their 14 previous encounters in total.
Champion in Dublin in 2007 and 2010, Wade is one of only three multiple winners of this title and is through to an eight quarter-final in what is his 22nd consecutive appearance in the event.
Van Veen overcame Dirk van Duijvenbode in straight sets to register his first win at the World Grand Prix before edging out Ryan Searle in a decider, and the European Champion is now eyeing a fifth major semi-final appearance of the season.
The opening match of the night sees 2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall take on 2024 semi-finalist Ryan Joyce.
Aspinall recovered from a set down and survived three match darts to edge out Kevin Doets in a decider, narrowly averting what would have been a fifth first round exit in his last seven World Grand Prix appearances, but was emphatic in thrashing Luke Woodhouse 3-0 in the Last 16.
Joyce has underlined his pedigree over this unique format once again by ousting six-time champion Van Gerwen from a set down, pinning eight of his 12 attempts at finishing doubles, before going on to dump out Danny Noppert in straight sets on Wednesday.
The action gets under way from 7pm BST, with quarter-final matches to be contested over the best of five sets.
WATCH THE WORLD GRAND PRIX STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | Geo Restrictions may apply | Please Gamble Responsibly
World Grand Prix 2026 Day Five Schedule
Friday October 2
Quarter-Finals
7pm-11pm
Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Joyce
Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
Gian van Veen v James Wade
Luke Humphries v Niels Zonneveld
