Live Darts on Saturday | World Darts Championship 2025/26 Day Ten Preview and Order of Play

The second round action gets under way at the World Darts Championship on Saturday with seven unmissable ties across two sessions.

The opening round of the biggest-ever World Championship produced drama, upsets and memorable moments aplenty, with five seeds crashing out and a host of international qualifiers breaking new ground.

The Last 64 now takes place for the remaining four days before the Christmas break as the big names bid to book their place in the business end of the tournament.

Saturday’s afternoon session kicks off a clash between former major finalists Ryan Searle and Brendan Dolan.

Searle, who overcame Chris Landman 3-0 on Day Two, has reached at least the third round in each of his previous seven World Championship appearances but has never been beyond the Last 16.

The former Players Championship Finals runner-up has once again produced his best form away from the TV cameras this season, picking up two ProTour titles and reaching two European Tour quarter-finals.

Dolan has often preserved his best form for the sport’s biggest stage in recent years, reaching the quarter-finals in both 2019/20 and 2023/24.

The 2011 World Grand Prix finalist defeated Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price during that memorable run two years ago before losing out to Luke Littler and has reached a Players Championship final this season alongside a further two semi-finals.

Multiple major finalist Dave Chisnall faces a showdown with German number two Ricardo Pietreczko.

Chisnall punished a profligate display of finishing from Fallon Sherrock to seal a straight sets win in his opener on Thursday, while Pietreczko pulled off a 3-1 win over former Grand Slam champion Jose De Sousa.

A winner of 26 PDC ranking titles, ‘Chizzy’ has endured undoubtedly his toughest year on the circuit to date, failing to qualify for the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam, whilst suffering first round exits in four of his five televised ranking tournaments.

The St Helens star has dropped to 21st in the Order of Merit and will be determined to avoid an early exit as he aims to climb back in the right direction.

Pietreczko, who made the Last 16 here last time out, reached his second major quarter-final at the European Championship on home soil in October and was a semi-finalist alongside Martin Schindler at the World Cup of Darts, defeating England’s Luke Humphries and Luke Littler along the way.

Meanwhile, Dutch star Dirk van Duijvenbode comes up against a resurgent James Hurrell.

Van Duijvenbode has roared back into form this season following a lengthy battle with injury, reaching the final of both the German Darts Championship and Players Championship 17.

The former World Grand Prix finalist recorded his first win on the iconic Ally Pally stage in three years by edging out former WDF World Champion Andy Baetens in a deciding set in Round One.

Hurrell, who saw off Stowe Buntz 3-1 in his opener, reached his first ProTour semi-final in July and also reached the third round of last month’s Players Championship Finals in Minehead.

Two first round underdogs go head-to-head as Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson meets Japan’s Motomu Sakai.

Harrysson enjoyed a sensational debut win over 12th seed Ross Smith in a deciding set on Day Two of the competition, averaging 93.8 in arguably the biggest win of his career to date.

Sakai became an instant cult hero with the Ally Pally crowd as he defeated France’s Thibault Tricole in straight sets on debut, making a crazy entrance to the stage.

Evening Session

With Dom Taylor having been removed from the event after failing a drugs test following his first round match, Jonny Clayton receives a bye through to the third round, meaning the evening session will consist of only three matches.

Michael Smith, the 2023 World Champion, faces a tricky test against Dutch left-hander Niels Zonneveld.

Smith was a straight sets winner over fellow Lancashire star Lisa Ashton on opening night, while Zonneveld swept aside New Zealand’s Haupai Puha by the same scoreline.

Smith headed into the World Championship in his lowest ranking position (28th) in over a decade following a turbulent season which has largely been hampered by injury.

Runner-up here in 2019 and 2022 before realising his darting destiny a year later, ‘Bully Boy’ failed to qualify for the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and European Championship this season, but has given a strong account of himself in the majors in which he has featured, reaching the quarter-finals of both the UK Open and Grand Slam.

Zonneveld arrived as the third highest ranked ProTour qualifier after reaching a final and a further three semi-finals this season, and the 27-year-old has claimed just his second win on this stage in what is his fifth appearance.

Former Masters champion and Premier League star Chris Dobey comes up against former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.

Dobey broke new ground with his run to the semi-finals here 12 months ago, defeating the likes of Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price along the way and effectively sealing a return to the Premier League line-up in 2025.

The Bedlington ace survived a minor scare from China’s Xiaochen Zong to wrap up a 3-1 victory in his opener, while Gilding saw off debutant Cam Crabtree by the same scoreline.

World number four Stephen Bunting faces a showdown with Indian trailblazer Nitin Kumar.

Bunting enjoyed a terrific run to the semi-finals here 12 months ago, cementing his place in the Premier League, with eventual champion Luke Littler ending his world title dream with a 6-1 rout on January 2.

Bunting has blitzed to six titles this season, two on the European Tour, two on the ProTour and two on the World Series, underlining his status as one of the most consistent performers on the circuit.

Having come through a nail-biting tie break against Sebastian Bialecki in round one, Bunting now bids to avoid a major upset at the hands of Kumar – who made history as the first Indian to win a match at the World Championship when he dispatched Richard Veenstra in a deciding set last Sunday.

The action gets under way from 12.30pm GMT, with second round ties to be contested over the best of five sets.

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World Darts Championship 2025/26 Day Ten Schedule

Saturday December 20

Second Round

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-4.30pm)
Ryan Searle v Brendan Dolan
Andreas Harrysson v Motomu Sakai
Dirk van Duijvenbode v James Hurrell
Dave Chisnall v Ricardo Pietreczko

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Michael Smith v Niels Zonneveld
Chris Dobey v Andrew Gilding
Stephen Bunting v Nitin Kumar
Jonny Clayton w/o v Dom Taylor – Taylor withdrawn from the event