Live Darts on Friday | World Series of Darts Finals 2026 Day Two Preview and Order of Play
The opening round continues at the 2026 World Series of Darts Finals on Friday with four former champions in action in Amsterdam.
Day One of the £450,000 non-ranking tournament saw two seeded stars crash out, as defending champion Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting were sent packing in last-leg deciders.
A string of star names will be out to avoid suffering a similar fate on Friday night as they get their campaigns under way at a sold-out AFAS Live.
Luke Littler, champion here in 2024 and runner-up 12 months ago, begins his quest for a seventh major title of the year with a tie against home favourite Danny Noppert.
Littler is in pursuit of an unprecedented clean sweep, having won all major televised titles in 2026 so far, stretching his lead at the top of the world rankings to over £2 million.
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.
Noppert, meanwhile, finished runner-up here in 2019 and is bidding to avenge his 10-6 defeat to Littler in the quarter-finals of the UK Open back in March.
Elsewhere, two-time champion Gerwyn Price starts out with a showdown against Australian Masters finalist Brody Klinge.
Price claimed this title in 2020 and 2022 and has enjoyed the lion’s share of his televised success on the World Series in recent years, racking up four tour titles in as many years.
Runner-up in July’s World Matchplay, Price will out to avoid a potential banana skin at the hands of emerging Aussie star Klinge – who defeated Ross Smith, Gian van Veen and Jonny Clayton en route to the final in Wollongong last month.
Klinge is one of five Aussie stars in action on Night Two, with ten-time ranking event winner Damon Heta topping the bill when he takes on man of the moment James Wade.
Heta defeated Van Gerwen en route to the semi-finals of the Flanders Darts Trophy last Sunday, where he was ultimately denied by eventual champion Wade.
Wade sensationally ended a ten-year wait for his third European Tour title, continuing a magnificent year which has also seen him claim the Australian Masters title and reach the final of the UK Open.
Jonny Clayton, the 2021 champion and winner of the New Zealand Darts Masters last month, opens up against Tour Card holder qualifier Maik Kuivenhoven.
Nathan Aspinall, runner-up here in 2023, faces Aussie ace Raymond Smith – a semi-finalist at the New Zealand Darts Masters in August.
Rising star Wessel Nijman, who has romped to eight ranking titles this season, is set for a rapturous reception on home soil when he faces former European Champion and world finalist Simon Whitlock.
Callan Rydz, who came through the Tour Card holder qualifier to secure a debut appearance in this event, takes on Japan’s Motomu Sakai – who made an unforgettable debut at the World Championship last December.
The opening match of the night sees Australia’s Adam Leek, quarter-finalist in Auckland last month, face Canadian number one – Jim Long, runner-up in the North American Championship in June.
The action gets under way from 6pm BST, with first round ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
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World Series of Darts Finals 2026 Day Two Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Friday September 18
First Round
6pm-10pm
Adam Leek v Jim Long
Motomu Sakai v Callan Rydz
Wessel Nijman v Simon Whitlock
Nathan Aspinall v Raymond Smith
James Wade v Damon Heta
Gerwyn Price v Brody Klinge
Luke Littler v Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton v Maik Kuivenhoven
