2026 PDC WC Day 10 Preview

Two winners from two bets on Friday for James Punt. We venture into battle again on Saturday, you can check out James’ 2026 PDC WC Day 10 previews and tips below.

Round 1 Reflections

We are now into the second-round stage of the tournament. The format remains the same at best of five sets and we have four days of action before the three day break for Christmas.

The first-round matches generated +4.60 points profit from 36 recommended bets. Nothing stellar, but it’s a profit. Let’s see how the second round works out.

Afternoon Session

Ryan Searle vs. Brendan Dolan

Searle had an easy 3-0 win over Chris Landman in round one. It was a decent all-round performance and he was never in any bother. His second-round record here is played seven and won seven.

Dolan had a much tougher time in his first-round match. He was playing debutant Tavis Dudeney and won 3-1 in the end, but he was made to work very hard and he had to pull out his best finishing, including a 170 to win the second set, to make the difference. Dudeney hit nine 180s and put Dolan under pressure a lot during the match. I expect something similar here.

Searle is a big 180 hitter and he can use that to get himself into finishing positions more often than Dolan. So long as his doubling holds up, he wins. Dolan has lost seven of his last ten matches, hitting seven sub-90 averages.

Their H2H record is 3-1 to Searle and he won their only TV match 11-6 in the 2021 Players Championship Finals semi-final. Searle won their only match in 2025, 6-4. Dolan has lost eight second round matches here and Ryan Searle is the 1.36 favourite to add to that tally.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: 1 point Ryan Searle to win -1.5 sets @ 1.80 with Boylesports

Andreas Harrysson vs. Motomu Sakai

Both players were nice winners for us in round one. Harrysson beat Ross Smith 3-2 and Sakai beat Tricole 3-0. Harrysson had the harder task and played the better darts. The Swede played his first-round match nine days ago, Sakai just two days ago.

Sakai will still be buzzing after his popular win. Will he still be the crowd favourite? Probably, but I guess Harrysson will have his supporters as well.

Both players were making their debuts in the first round and neither has any real experience advantage.

Harrysson is the 1.54 favourite, Sakai 2.63. There is not a lot to go on here. I make Harrysson the favourite but there is no value in his odds. Both players will be under more pressure here. Both will fancy their chances but neither are the big underdog with the crowd on their side. They both will know that the winner will win, at least, £35K and that would be their biggest payday to date in the sport. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: No Bet

Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. James Hurrell

Hurrell beat Stowe Buntz 3-1 in the first round, both players averaging under 90. A win is a win and Hurrell will be under no real pressure here. He gets £25k for making the second round and is up to 56th in the World Rankings. Job done. This is now bonus territory. Hillbilly Hurrell has lost six of his last ten matches and only hit two averages over 93.

Dirk van Duijvenbode beat Andy Baetens 3-2 in one of the games of the tournament so far. Dirk averaged 98.54, but more to the point, he won a tough contest. He didn’t fold after going 2-1 down and he can often be guilty of letting his head drop. Van Duijvenbode has lost at this stage for the last two years but this match is well within his wheelhouse.

Both players have lost six of their last ten matches and neither are officer material right now, but Dirk does possess the greater firepower and has much more experience of big TV matches. Hurrell has a happy disposition and will give his best, but will that be enough?

Previous

They played twice in Players Championship events in 2024, and it was one win each. Dirk was struggling with a neck/shoulder injury back then and is a fitter player now, able to practice more and he is much happier about his game. Dirk played nowhere near his best in those two matches and his best average was just 90. I expect better this time round.

Dirk is the 1.30 favourite with Hurrell 3.75. Van Duijvenbode has made hard work of his second-round matches, winning three 3-2 and losing his last two 1-3. He is not the player he was pre-injury, he is better than he has been for a while but he might still make it hard for himself as he is a bit flaky mentally.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: 0.5 point Dirk van Duijvenbode to win 3-1 @ 3.60 with Betfred

Dave Chisnall vs. Ricardo Pietreczko

It is a quick turnaround for Chizzy. He beat Fallon Sherrock on Thursday night. That was an underwhelming 3-0 win with Sherrock missing twenty doubles. Chizzy took his chances well, but his scoring was poor, averaging just 89.66.

Chisnall has won just four of his last ten matches and his wins came against Sherrock, Barney, Graham Hall and Jules van Dongen. He has hit seven sub-90 averages, including two sub-80s. Pietreczko is a cut above those players.

Pikachu beat Jose de Sousa 3-1 and he has won five of his last ten matches. Like Chizzy, Pikachu is not scoring well, hitting under 92 averages in all ten. He played OK against De Sousa, hitting four maximums and checking out at 44%.

Back Problems

Chisnall has relied on his power scoring to have such a long and lucrative career, but his ongoing back problems have seen that scoring power disappear and his 12-month average is now just 91.84.

Their H2H record is 4-1 to Chisnall and he won their only match in 2025 6-3 on the Euro Tour early in the season.

Neither player inspires much confidence. Chisnall is floundering and his throw was very poor against Sherrock. Pietreczko could break into the top 32 in the World Rankings, so he has a very clear motivation, while Chizzy can just see his career going down the tubes.

The market can barely split them with Chisnall 1.91 to win and Pietreczko 2.00. I would reverse the odds and maybe go a bit shorter on Pietreczko. He is playing a little better, and his finishing might be the deciding factor. That said, if anything Chisnall has been the better finisher in recent matches and if he can just fire in a few more 180s, he can win it. This is a very definite no bet for me.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: No Bet

Evening Session

Michael Smith vs. Niels Zonneveld

Zonneveld opened the show on day two, beating Haupai Puha 3-0, but it was far from plain sailing. The first two sets went to a deciding leg and I thought some of the commentators were overly fulsome in their praise for his performance.

Michael Smith played on the opening night and the first thing to say was that he looked fitter than the last time we saw him. He beat Lisa Ashton 3-0 and dropped just three legs, but Ashton was poor, averaging just 77.13, and that was the worst performance of the first round. It was a match that told us very little.

Smith is in a similar situation to Chisnall. Injury is really ruining their games. If your body hurts it is hard to do much practicing and if you can’t put the hours in, the game suffers.

Smith will be getting treatment but his condition is not something that that can be ‘cured’. I presume he knows what kind of arthritis he is suffering with. You can pretty much get rid of gouty arthritis but any kind that causes wear and tear in the joints, that is not reversable.

Closely Matched

Smith has won seven of his last ten matches but only two were won convincingly. Zonneveld has won five of his last ten and only three matches saw him playing well. Overall, both players have been averaging around 90.

Their H2H record is 4-1 to Smith, but they haven’t played for 15 months and Smith’s game has deteriorated since then. All their matches were floor matches and four required less than 7.5 legs. Both are averaging 92 over the last 12 months, Zonneveld is better in most of the statistical categories, but there isn’t too much in it.

Smith is a former World Champion and has a lot more experience on this stage, but that was then and he is now not the player he once was. Both players can be backed at 2.00. It could be close, despite most of their previous matches being anything but close.

Betting on Smith’s matches these days comes with a health warning. He could turn up crocked and lose, but if he is fit enough to play, it could be close. Small stakes only, just in case.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: 0.5 point over 4.5 sets @ 2.75 with Paddy Power

Chris Dobey vs. Andrew Gilding

Dobey was suffering with a sickness bug when he played his opening match against Zong, winning 3-1 with a 92.81 average. Maybe he would have liked a longer break between matches, but he has had four days to recuperate. Dobey has won his last seven second round matches here, four of them 3-2.

Andrew Gilding played very well when beating Cam Crabtree 3-1 in his opening match. He was helped by Crabtree being just 21% on his doubles, but Gilding averaged 97.89, had a 161 checkout and was 44% on his doubles. Hard to beat that. Gilding has lost four second round matches here, but he did beat Martin Lukeman 3-1 at this stage last year.

Gilding is not the kind of player that Dobey will like playing. Dobey prefers a quick pace and Gilding is very much in the slow lane. That is reflected in their H2H record which reads 6-5 to Gilding. Dobey has won their last three, however, so he may be finding a way to cope.

Dobey is the 1.40 favourite, Gilding 3.25. I can see this being close if Gilding plays like he did in round one.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: 1 point over 4.5 sets @ 2.80 with Boylesports

Stephen Bunting vs. vs. Nitin Kumar

Kumar was nearly the story of the first round, until David Munyua beat Mike de Decker on Thursday. Kumar became the first Indian player to win at the PDC World Championship when he beat Richard Veenstra 3-2 last Sunday. He has had six days to think about his second-round match and he might have been better served by a quicker turnaround.

Bunting made very hard work of beating Sebastian Bialecki. It was a 3-2 win having been 2-0 up. Bunting just went off the boil and then got a bit panicky, finally getting over the line in extra time, winning the deciding set 4-2. He is putting himself under a lot of pressure. It hasn’t gone well for him in the Majors, ever, and his frustration is palpable.

Bunting has lost seven of his last ten matches and that is not helping him confidence wise. He knows he has the chance to have a good run in this quarter and maybe he is just terrified that it is going to slip through his fingers again. That said, if he can relax and play his B game, he wins this.

Part-Timer

Kumar is only averaging 77.5 over the last 12 months and he is very much a part time player. He has now played five matches here and averaged anything from 77.75 to 90.17. He really shouldn’t have the game to trouble Bunting. Kumar will know that his job is done.

Bunting is the 1.06 favourite with Kumar 13.00. It should be a 3-0 win for Bunting but at odds of just 1.57 are of no interest given how he nearly blew it in round one. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 10 Tip: No Bet

Jonny Clayton vs. Dom Taylor

Jonny Clayton was happy with his 3-1 win over Adam Lipscombe in round one. It was only a 92.53 average but he got better as the match went on and had a couple of big ton plus finishes to close out the match.

He has lost six of his last ten matches, so he is not at the top of his game just yet, but he is through to round two and is the 1.40 favourite to move through to round three. Clayton has won his last six second round matches here, so he knows where the toilets are.

Dom Taylor was very animated when he beat Oskar Lukasiak 3-0, dropping just one leg, but that had more to do with the Swede being rubbish. Taylor only averaged 85.89. He is capable of better and that first round win will have relaxed him and he can enjoy being the underdog. That win moves him up to 58th in the world rankings and his tour card is safe for next season. Job done.

Their H2H record is 2-0 to Clayton and he is the better player in almost all departments.

Drugs For Mugs

Of course shortly after writing this, the news broke that Taylor has failed a drugs test…again. He missed this event last year for exactly the same thing. Clearly the boy has issues, the first being that his darting career is over. Clayton gets a bye into round three, Taylor a kick back down the road to obscurity. What a tit.

-JamesPunt