Live Darts on Wednesday | World Matchplay 2026 Day Five Preview and Order of Play
The second round draws to a close at the 2026 World Matchplay in Blackpool on Wednesday as a host of decorated darters bid to reach the latter stages.
Two of the top five seeds were sent packing on Day Four at the Winter Gardens as three-time champion Michael van Gerwen and 2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton bowed out in subdued fashion.
Defending champion Luke Littler has shortened further to odds-on to retain the Phil Taylor Trophy after hitting a sensational nine-darter and registering the second-highest average in the history of the tournament in his epic win over Nathan Aspinall last night.
Focus now shifts back to the bottom half of the draw, which includes a showdown between 2019 champion Rob Cross and 2022 runner-up Gerwyn Price.
Cross has been an ever-present in this event since 2017 but has reached just one quarter-final since lifting the Phil Taylor trophy seven years ago.
He returned to Blackpool unseeded for the first time since his debut campaign, but in a rich vein of recent form which has seen him pick up a Players Championship title and finish runner-up at the Slovak Darts Open.
Now ranked world number 25, Cross enjoyed a crushing 10-3 victory over Danny Noppert in Round One and now faces Price for the first time in major ranking competition since the 2019 European Championship.
Price famously landed a nine-darter here en route to the final four years ago and extended his run of having not lost in the opening round at the Winter Gardens since 2019 by scraping past Martin Schindler in a tie break on Monday.
Semi-finalist in this year’s World Masters and UK Open, Price also reached the Premier League play-offs and has picked up a title on both the European Tour and ProTour.
A mouth-watering all-Dutch clash sees World Championship finalist Gian van Veen take on emerging sensation Wessel Nijman.
Van Veen, the reigning European champion, is making his third consecutive World Matchplay appearance, having reached the quarter-finals 12 months ago.
The world number three finished second from bottom in his debut Premier League campaign but bounced back with a run to the final of the World Cup alongside Van Gerwen for the Netherlands.
Van Veen, who saw off Krzysztof Ratajski 10-6 in the opening round, has won 11 of his 16 previous meetings with Nijman across all competitions.
Nijman has been undoubtedly the stand-out performer on the ProTour this season, racking up a staggering six titles, in addition to two European Tour triumphs.
Now ranked world number 14, the 26-year-old is bidding to transfer that blistering run of form onto the sport’s biggest stages – where he eyeing a first major quarter-final appearance after overcoming Dave Chisnall 10-5 in the first round.
Meanwhile, 2007 champion James Wade comes up against World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle.
Wade is featuring in a record-extending 21st consecutive campaign at the World Matchplay, having reached the final in five of his first seven appearances.
The decorated left-hander has gone on to reach the final on a further two occasions, including last year when he was narrowly denied by Littler after statistically enjoying his best-ever World Matchplay campaign.
Wade, who has also finished runner-up at this year’s UK Open, has picked up a Players Championship title and opened up with a solid 10-7 success over Jermaine Wattimena on Sunday.
Searle sealed an eighth Players Championship title back in March and is making his sixth successive World Matchplay appearance, having reached the quarter-finals in 2023.
The world number 11 dispatched debutant William O’Connor 10-6 in Round One with an impressive 55 per cent on the doubles.
The opening match of the night sees former European Champion Ross Smith take on a rejuvenated Cameron Menzies.
Menzies pulled off the biggest win of his career to date by dumping out 2024 champion Luke Humphries on Monday night with a 170 checkout to seal the deal.
The three-time Players Championship event winner is now bidding to back up that momentous victory by booking his place in a third major ranking quarter-final since 2024.
Smith finally clinched his first European Tour title at the International Darts Open in May following four consecutive final losses, and has added a further brace of Players Championship titles this season.
The number 15 seed is now out to replicate his run to the quarter-finals here two years ago, after dispatching debutant Kevin Doets 10-6 in a first round thriller with a 100.5 average, seven 180s and a high checkout of 160.
The action gets under way from 7pm BST, with second round matches to be contested over the best of 21 legs.
Matches will be extended if necessary for a maximum of six extra legs before a sudden death leg is required. For example, in a first to 11 second round match, if the score reaches 13-13 then the 27th leg will be the sudden death decider.
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World Matchplay 2026 Day Five Schedule of Play
Wednesday July 22
Second Round
7pm-11pm
Cameron Menzies v Ross Smith
Gian van Veen v Wessel Nijman
Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
James Wade v Ryan Searle
