Live Darts on Saturday | World Matchplay 2026 Semi-Finals Preview and Order of Play
The final four face off at the 2026 World Matchplay in Blackpool on Saturday as they bid to remain in the running for the Phil Taylor Trophy.
The semi-finals take centre stage on an unmissable Saturday night at the Winter Gardens as a quartet of box office stars do battle on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.
The semi-final line-up consists of three of the top eight seeds, alongside an unseeded Dutch star enjoying an emphatic resurgence.
The opening tie of the evening sees 2022 runner-up Gerwyn Price take on reigning European Champion Gian van Veen.
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.
The Welshman then emphatically dispatched 2019 champion Rob Cross 11-5 with a 97.8 average, before overcoming Ross Smith 16-12 in the quarter-finals with a 102.8 average and ten maximums.
Price is appearing in his fourth major semi-final of the season, but ominously lost at this stage of the World Masters and UK Open and Premier League play-offs.
Van Veen, meanwhile, finds himself at this stage of the competition for the first time, following hard-fought wins over Krzysztof Ratajski, Wessel Nijman and 2007 champion James Wade.
The World Championship finalist has been far from at his brilliant best this week but has dug deep in the crucial moments to break new ground in Blackpool.
Victory here for the 24-year-old would see him become world number two for the first time, leapfrogging Luke Humphries in the process.
However, the head-to-head record is firmly in Price’s favour, with the Welshman having won 13 of their 16 previous meetings, including five of their seven encounters in this year’s Premier League.
The second semi-final sees reigning champion Luke Littler continue the defence of his crown with a clash against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Luke Littler is bidding to become only the fourth player in the history of the competition to successfully retain the title and is also out to maintain his clean sweep of major titles this season, having won the World Championship, World Masters, UK Open, Premier League and World Cup of Darts.
Littler has won the last five major ranking titles, with his last defeat in a ranked major coming against Wade in last October’s European Championship.
The world number one stormed past German debutant Niko Springer on opening night with a 109.5 average, before producing one of the best displays ever seen at the Winter Gardens to defeat a gallant Nathan Aspinall 11-8.
Littler’s 113.68 average was the second highest in World Matchplay history and featured a roof-raising nine-darter in the opening leg of the contest – doubling his tally of perfect legs at the Empress Ballroom following his semi-final heroics last year.
He then produced a devastating mid-match burst to dispose of Josh Rock 16-7 with a 109.5 average and a staggering 17 maximums.
Van Duijvenbode is gearing up for the biggest match of his career since reaching the final of the World Grand Prix behind closed doors back in 2020.
The energetic Dutch star has overcome the injury turmoil which threatened to curtail his career in recent years and his exploits this week have seen him climb a minimum of five places to 23rd in the provisional rankings.
Van Duijvenbode has defied his unseeded status this week to pull off terrific wins over Chris Dobey and former champions Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, notably averaging 101.5 in the latter tie.
He is appearing in a first major ranking semi-final since the 2024 Players Championship Finals and comes up against Littler for the first time in a TV major, having lost four of their five previous meetings.
The action gets under way from 8pm BST, with semi-final matches to be contested over the best of 33 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 17 semi-final match, if the score reaches 19-19 then the 39th leg will be sudden death.
WATCH THE WORLD MATCHPLAY STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | Geo Restrictions may apply | Please Gamble Responsibly
World Matchplay 2026 Semi-Finals Schedule of Play
Saturday July 25
8pm-11pm
Gerwyn Price v Gian van Veen
Luke Littler v Dirk van Duijvenbode
