The opening day of 2026 will see the PDC World Darts Championship quarter finals played out across two sessions of action inside the Alexandra Palace in London when we whittle eight down to the final four on a huge Thursday of darts.
The last two winners of the tournament remain in the hunt for the trophy once again, as does another former champion, two rising stars and a couple of very competent tungsten tossers. It is all set up to be a cracking day of darts.
Afternoon Session
Ryan Searle vs Jonny Clayton
The opening quarter final of the tournament sees the new world number four Jonny Clayton going up against the man who has looked a dangerous dark horse throughout the campaign in Ryan Searle, who has made the last eight for the first time.
Searle hasn’t just made the last eight, he has come through the draw without dropping a set which is quite some achievement. That is an achievement in itself but Searle has actually only dropped 11 legs in the 14 sets he has won to date too so he really has been a man in form. Clayton has had to do things much the harder way. He had a real battle against Andreas Harrysson in the previous round and was pushed even closer to the limit the match before that by Niels Zonneveld. There has been a bit of a discrepancy between the numbers these two have posted in this tournament. In the last two rounds Clayton has averaged 98.44 and 92.79 with nine dart averages of 104.43 and 100.10 whereas Searle has averaged 102.29 and 100.57 with nine dart averages of 107.60 and 110.23. Searle finished at 48% and 50% in those two games so he is going to be hard to beat here. I hope he is because I’m on him to win the quarter at 10/1 which is effectively winning here and on at 1/5 the odds to four places in the outright market at 100/1 which is basically winning here for the place money and that is all the interest I need for this first game of the day.
Gary Anderson vs Justin Hood
The second quarter final in the afternoon session will see the former champion Gary Anderson going up against the debutant who is having a run which has probably already exceeded all of his expectations in the fun and good to watch Justin Hood.
Anderson has rolled back the years so far in this tournament, seeing off the dangerous Jermaine Wattimena and Michael van Gerwen since Christmas with an absolute barrage of 180s and some really good finishing. Hood has been the unknown star of the competition and more than deserves his spot in this quarter final having taken care of Danny Noppert and Josh Rock en route to this last eight clash. Against Rock, Hood hit the first 11 doubles he aimed at and given that he too can hold his own on the 180s if his finishing is even close to that he’ll give himself a chance here. The one concern you would have of Hood in this tournament is that he has never been behind in it yet and should he fall behind here it will be interesting to see whether he can still come up with the goods. Anderson has more than ticked that box and is looking very comfortable on this stage. He has recorded scoring averages in excess of 110 in his last three matches and if he makes that a fourth straight game here then he is entitled to think he will make it through. I expect Anderson to win here. His leg on leg scoring consistency should be too much even if Hood does play like he has been doing but at some point I expect ‘Happy Feet’ to realise where he is and drop his form a touch and that will enough for Anderson to pounce. In his last three matches, Anderson has been averaging getting to a finish after nine darts. If that remains the case here he should have plenty in hand come the time he lands the final double here.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Evening Session
Luke Littler vs Krzysztof Ratajski
The first match in the evening session on Thursday sees Luke Littler continuing his title defence when he takes on the top dog from Poland in the form of Krzysztof Ratajski with a semi-final spot the reward for whoever comes out on top here.
Littler has never lost earlier than the final on this stage so he will be confident about his chances but it will be interesting to see what sort of dynamic the crowd offer to this match after Littler allowed his emotions to get the better of him after his win over Rob Cross last time out which saw him come out with some entitled comments which probably wasn’t the wisest move. Ratajski doesn’t have to worry about any of that but he will need to ensure he is at his very best here. Ratajski has averaged 98.43 and 96.68 in the last two rounds but he is probably going to need to find five points on that if he is to be competitive here. One thing which will give Ratajski confidence is he only went down 10-8 to Littler at the UK Open last year so he knows he can go with him which might allow him to win a set or two but over nine sets I just don’t see the Pole having the scoring power or consistency to go with Littler. It is the Littler scoring that takes my fancy here. He is even money to hit a dozen maximums and fresh off the back of 17 of them in his win over Cross in six sets last time out, I think with at least that many sets here, which we should get, I expect Littler to plough in another dozen, especially if the crowd are on his case and he looks to show them who is top dog. I’ll play over 11.5 Littler 180s.
Luke Humphries vs Gian van Veen
In terms of the pick of the quarter finals we save the best for last as the 2024 winner Luke Humphries goes up against the extremely dangerous European champion Gian van Veen in what is the standout match on the opening day of 2026.
Humphries has looked very good and very controlled in this tournament as he bids to defend the £500k he won for winning this event two years ago but there were times against Gabriel Clemens two rounds ago where he was beginning to creek at the seams and you would imagine that van Veen has the sustained scoring and consistency to trouble ‘Cool Hand’ here. If you go by the numbers then Humphries has the edge this week but van Veen will stride to the stage knowing that he has won the last four meetings between the pair, the latest three being on the big stage so you get the feeling that is isn’t going to shirk the challenge and that he will rise to the occasion. With that in mind, we can sit back and look forward to a potential epic, one which looks to have eight or nine sets all over it and therefore the over 7.5 sets looks an obvious but solid play.
Tips
Back G.Anderson (-1.5 sets) to beat J.Hood for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with William Hill
Back him here:
Back L.Littler – Over 11.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back L.Humphries vs G.van Veen – Over 7.5 sets for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Paddy Power
Be the first to comment on "PDC World Darts Championship 2026 – Quarter Finals Tips and Betting Preview"