2026 PDC WC Day 14 Preview

Hopefully you all made it through three dartless days unscathed. Christmas is over and finally we can get back to what really matters…The Darts! James Punt’s 2026 PDC WC Day 14 previews and tips are below.

R2 Reflections

The second round was a disaster from a betting point of view. Seventeen bets stuck and only four winners for a net loss of -6.24 points. We were +4.61 points up for round one but the running tally after round two is now -1.63.

The good news is that we have only lost one of the ante-post bets. Chris Dobey was a speculative punt to win the first quarter but he went out to Andrew Gilding in round two.

We now go into the third round stage, where the tournament proper starts. We have sorted most of the wheat from the chaff, and it should be quality all the way from here on in.

Top Five Seeds Remain

I said in the preview that it was the top ten seeds who we need to keep on side. So far we have lost four of the top ten seeds, but the top five and the tenth remain. We are now into a longer format with the third and fourth round matches being best of seven sets. That should make it harder for any underdogs still remaining.

This year’s new format, with all players having to play in both round one and two, in a shorter format, did introduce a bit more jeopardy for the top players, but we have still got fourteen of the top twenty players in the competition.

I would say the imperfections of the ranking system makes it look worse than it really is in terms of the loss of the ‘big players’. It was hard to see Noppert losing to Hurrell, but when you look at his record here, he was never a player to back to go deep.

James Wade’s form coming into his event wasn’t convincing, Chris Dobey has form for being an underachiever on TV. Gerwyn Price’s TV major form is becoming one of glorious failure in recent years. Is Gian Van Veen really a worse player than any of the above? Or indeed Josh Rock?

Afternoon Session

Wesley Plaisier vs. Krzysztof Ratajski

I have been impressed by Ratajski in his opening two matches. He was very good against the awkward Alexis Toylo in round one and solid in a 3-1 win over Ryan Joyce. He has won seven of his last ten matches and has put in some very good performances, including beating Gian van Veen in the Players Championship finals. Ratajski has played five third round matches here and lost four, two in deciding sets.

Wesley Pliaiser knocked out Gerwyn Price in round two with a convincing 3-0 win. It was a 94.28 average, to go with his 92.50 in his 3-1 win over Lukas Wenig in the first round. That’s decent darts but nothing to write home about.

Plaisier has lost six of his last ten matches and he wasn’t a player many expected to see in round three. He has only ever played in two World Championships, including this one, losing in round two last year. His best result in a PDC major was a third round in the 2024 UK Open.

H2H

Their H2H record is 1-1 with Ratajski winning their only match in 2025, 6-2 back in February.

The Polish Eagle is the better payer but not by a huge margin. He will need to keep up his recent good form and hope that Plaisier doesn’t find is A+ game.

Ratajski is the 1.67 favourite, Plaisier 2.30. Ratajski has caught my eye more than Plaisier and he is the more experienced player at this sort of level.

2026 PDC WC Day 14 Tip: 1 point Ratajski to win -1.5 sets @ 2.20 generally available

Andrew Gilding vs. Luke Woodhouse

Another player that has impressed me in the first two rounds has been Andrew Gilding. Captain Weird didn’t come here in any great form, but he has averaged 97.89 and 99.01 in his 3-1 wins over Crabtree and Dobey respectively.

I was watching one of his interviews after winning the first round match with Crabtree and unlike some of the players, he admitted that he is being motivated by the extra prizemoney on offer. He isn’t one of the big boys and despite being a major winner, he says he needs the money. He doesn’t have a pension and needs to make hay while the sun shines.

I like a player with a clear motivation. If he wins this, he picks up £60K and the chance for more. Gilding has never got beyond the third round here before. He lost at this stage last year, a 0-4 defeat at the hands of Nathan Aspinall.

Improved

Luke Woodhouse is an improved player these days. He has a much better attitude and doesn’t give up as easily as he used to. He came here in good form having been runner up in PC34 and winning his group at the Grand Slam.

Woody has won eight of his last ten matches, but his last six averages have been 92, 92, 91, 89, 90 and 92. He will need to improve on that kind of level or hope that Gilding drops his significantly. Woodhouse has played two third round matches here and won last year’s, a 4-3 win over Damon Heta.

Their H2H record is 5-3 to Gilding and he has won their last four in a row, including their only match on TV, a 10-5 win at the 2023 UK Open.

2026 PDC WC Day 14 Tip: 1 point Andrew Gilding to win -1.5 sets @ 2.50 with Paddy Power, Bresbet

Jonny Clayton vs. Niels Zonneveld

Clayton is one of the top ten seeds still remaining and history tells us that means he should make progress. He has made the fourth round here for the last four years.

The Ferret got a bye into this round, so he has not played for twelve days, which may not be ideal. Clayton has lost six of his last ten matches and he was only OK in a 3-1 win over Adam Lipscombe in round one.

His form now is not what it was when he reached the final of the World Masters in February and three further consecutive major semi-finals. He fell at the first fence in the European Championship, failed to get out of his group at the Grand Slam and lost his first round match at the Players Championship finals.

Worst Throw

Niels Zonneveld may have the worst throw of the remaining thirty-two players and he has never made the third round here before. He has had a decent season on the floor, making one final and three further semi-finals.

Niels has won six of his last ten matches, he hasn’t done anything special in his last eight, but neither has he played particularly poorly. He is a better player this season, but does he strike me as a last sixteen player in a World Championship? No, but he is up against another player who is not playing any great stuff.

H2H

Their H2H record is a surprising 4-1 to Zonneveld and he has won their last four. Clayton’s only win came back in 2019. They met in the 2023 Players Championship finals and Zonneveld won that 6-2.

How much that H2H record matters is hard to say, but I dare say it means more to Zonneveld. Jonny Clayton has much more experience of these big TV matches and that is an advantage, but if Zonneveld can stay calm and not get ahead of himself, he could win.

Clayton is not at his best, but he is the better player and deserves to be favourite, but odds of 1.40 look plenty short to me. Zonneveld is the 3.00 outsider and I can see him getting something out of the match.

2026 PDC WC Day 14 Tip: 1 point over 5.5 sets @ 1.73 generally available

Evening Session

Andreas Harrysson vs. Ricardo Pietreczko

Dirty Harry made my day with his 3-2 win over Ross Smith in round one. He then faced the Japanese player Motomu Sakai in round two, and won that 3-0.

Harrysson has won seven of his last ten matches, but eight of those were at Challenge Tour level. Looking at his last ten at senior level, he has also won seven of his last ten matches. His seasonal average is only 87.95, but he can unleash averages well over the ton at times.

The Swede is a very cool customer but he is playing for a chance to win £60K, and his total career earnings coming into this was £28.5K. He could be forgiven for finding this stressful.

Experience Edge

Ricardo Pietreczko is the more experienced player on the big TV stages but he is not a much better player than Harrysson. His seasonal average is just 90.98 and that is pretty much where he has been at in his recent matches. Half of his last ten matches have seen sub-90 averages and a high of 91.98. His scoring is unlikely to frighten Harrysson, but Pietreczko is no mug and a good finisher.

They have never met before but Ricardo is the 1.70 favourite, which looks about right. He is the better player, but not by much. The crowd are going to be on Harrysson’s side. Around 25% of the crowd are likely to be Germans, but the English football fans will outnumber them and out shout them. Pikachu is not a particularly popular player outside of Germany and he is going to have to dominate the match to keep the crowd quiet.

Ricardo did make the fourth round here last year when he played very well, averaged 97 and beat Scott Williams 4-0. The English fans couldn’t put him off that day. The year before, Pietreczko took Luke Humphries to a deciding set in his third-round match, so clearly, he has handled things well in a hostile environment.

2026 PDC WC Day 14 Tip: 1 point Ricardo Pietreczko to win -1.50 sets @ 2.25 with Betfred

Stephen Bunting vs, James Hurrell

Hurrell just edged out Dirk van Duijvenbode in a deciding set in round two. Both players averaged 93 and it was a gritty performance. He beat Stowe Buntz 3-1 in a poor-quality opener. So far, so meh.

Hillbilly Hurrell has won five of his last ten matches and beaten the likes of Jonny Clayton, averaging 99.18 in that one, and also had wins over Menzies, Woodhouse and he had a win over Gian Van Veen in October. He can play better than he has so far, but this is a whole different level. A longer format, for serious money and against the number four seed and crowd favourite, Stephen Bunting.

Uncomfortable

The Bullet has beaten Bialecki 3-2 in round one and Kumar 3-0 in round two. He just has not looked comfortable against players who should have caused him no bother.

Bunting looks nervous to me. He can see an opportunity to make a semi-final, win big bucks, but his form coming into this was not great and he has lost six of his last ten matches. I think he could crack, but is Hurrell capable of being the man to do it? I can’t see it, unless Bunting dries up.

They have met once and Bunting won that 6-2 on the floor last year.

Bunting has played seven third round matches here and has won six. He should be good enough to make that seven but he makes no appeal at odds of just 1.22. He is just 1.50 giving up a 1.5 set handicap and it is hard to see much of interest here. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 14 Tip: No Bet

Luke Littler vs. Mensur Suljovic

This has the potential to be interesting, but I fear it won’t be.

Suljovic beat the GOAT, Joe Cullen, in round two, or should I say CHEATED his way to a lucky win over the greatest player ever to exist inside Cullen’s head?

If there was ever a World Championship for spitting the dummy out, I dare say the bookies wouldn’t underestimate Cullen’s chances in that one.

Cullen accused Suljovic of cheating in his 3-1 in round two. He was alone in his accusations, as Suljovic didn’t cheat. How could he? They are on a big stage, on TV with a referee standing right there.

The ref did have a word with Suljovic once for not retrieving his darts quickly enough after winning a leg, but that was that. What Cullen meant was that Suljovic was absolutely rubbish, and still won. Suljovic averaged 81.95 over the four sets, and he was worse than that for most of the match, and he still beat Cullen.

Slow Player

Suljovic is a slow player, he is very well known as a slow player. Joe Cullen knows that he is a slow player, so why was he surprised that Suljovic played slowly? He wasn’t, he was just sick that he played even worse than Suljovic. Spitting the dummy out is classic Cullen. It’s never his fault.

I was very pleased to hear Luke Littler say that Suljovic didn’t cheat. He just plays slowly and you have to be ready for that. There is no rule that sets a minimum time for a player to take his turn. If you can’t handle that, it’s your problem. Cullen said that ‘if that’s darts, I don’t want to be part of it’. Well, it is. So, bye bye.

Win In His Sleep

Littler will not enjoy the pace of play, but he is a professional and he will be prepared for it. He could also beat someone averaging 81 in his sleep, which indeed he may have to do, such is Suljovic’s ability to make matches boring.

These two have never met before, but even allowing for that, I do not expect Littler to be seriously bothered by a slow pace. He will have the crowd on his side and Suljovic will know the game is up soon enough. Littler is the 1.03 favourite, Suljovic 17.00. It will likely be dull but surely there is only one winner here. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 14 Tip: No Bet

-JamesPunt