2026 PDC WC Day 17 Preview

It was a tough day for James Punt on Monday and we had to settle for just one winner at odds of 2.25. His 2026 PDC WC Day 17 previews and tips are below.

Third Round Reflections

The third-round selections yielded a 1.60 point profit, meaning that the tally for the tournament stood at -0.03 points. The fourth round got off to a bad start last night, 2.5 points down. We have six more matches today to wrap up the fourth round before there is a day off on the 31st. The action returns on the 1st January with the four quarter final matches.

Afternoon Session

Luke Woodhouse vs. Krzysztof Ratajski

The Polish Eagle showed a lot of bottle to beat Wesley Plaisier 4-3 in round three. He was 1-3 down and survived match darts against him, but he dug in and took the deciding set 3-1 to get over the line. That final set was the only time he was ahead in the match. He can grind with the best of them.

Ratajski is in good form, winning eight of his last ten matches and his tournament average is 96.57. Ratajski has only played one fourth round match here and beat Gabriel Clemens 4-2 in 2021. A win here and he will return to the top 32 in the world rankings.

Luke Woodhouse, like Ratajski, has won eight of his last ten matches, but his tournament average is just 92.79. That has been more than enough as none of his opponents have averaged more than 86.50. I expected Andrew Gilding to beat him on Saturday but Goldfinger played really badly.

Yet To win Senior Title

Woodhouse is getting more used to having deep runs in tournaments, but we should remember that he has never won a senior title. Woodhouse lost 0-4 to Bunting at this stage last year, his best run at Ally Pally.

Their H2H record is 4-1 to Ratajski, but Woodhouse won their only stage match on the Euro Tour in 2022.

I think Ratajski is the better player, is playing better and he is the more accomplished player. The market just about agrees and we can have a nice straight forward win bet on the Pole.

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 1 point Krzysztof Ratajski to win @ 1.73 with Hills

Jonny Clayton vs. Andreas Harrysson

It has all been plain sailing for Harrysson since his close encounter with Ross Smith in the first round. He dismissed Motomu Sakai 3-0 in round two and was never in any bother in his 4-2 win over a very poor Ricardo Pitreczko in the third. He is guaranteed £60K for getting this far and reality is bound to bite at some point.

Jonny Clayton is one of the top five seeds still remaining and he has won his last four third round matches here. His form so far has been good, averaging 95.48, and that is a step up from some pretty ropey form coming into this event.

Overall, he has lost six of his last ten matches, which reflects that form. He played well against Zonneveld, he needed a deciding set to win, but win he did, 3-0 in the final set.

Premier League Prospects

If Clayton wins this, he is a provisional qualifier for next year’s Premier League, but Van Veen and Rock are still on his shoulder. For his part, a win for Harrysson and he would win a tour card for the next two years, so both players are heavily incentivised.

Clayton is the 1.29 favourite, Harrysson 4.33. I suspect that The Ferret will just be too tenacious even for the laid back Harrysson, but the odds are of no interest and it is not a great betting opportunity. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: No Bet

Josh Rock vs. Justin Hood

Happy Feet will have the advantage of the home crowd on his side, and as the underdog, even more so. He has played very well so far. He is comfortable on the big stage and he has already beaten a top seed to get this far.

That match with Noppert will go down as one of the best ever played on the Ally Pally stage and it was inevitable that his next match would show a drop in performance. Luckily, he was only facing Ryan Meikle and he was able to beat him 4-1, despite his worst average of the tournament of 94. That is not a bad worst average.

New Ground

This is all new ground for Hood. He has only played in three Majors before this one and won just three matches. His best run was the fourth round of the UK Open, where he lost 5-10 to Josh Rock. It is fair to say that Hood has been playing at the very top end of his game so far. The question has to be, can he carry on doing it?

He is playing for the chance to win £100K, or more. His career earnings coming into this tournament were £32.5K. He would not human if he didn’t have one eye on the prize. This is not just another match.

Slow Start

Josh Rock got off the very slow start. Guilty of underestimating Gemma Hayter, he dropped a set and averaged just 90.18. Since then, he has upped his game, beating Joe Comito 3-0, averaging 101.33, and Callan Rydz 4-1 yesterday, averaging 98.98. It is fair to say that Rock has not been tested yet.

Rydz did not want to be there yesterday, but at least he put up some sort of performance and made Rock move up a gear or two, in what was a match played in strange circumstances. This is now when Rock needs to hit the ground running and make use of his superior game.

Rock has played in the last two major last of 16 rounds and won both. He beat Conor Scutt 10-9 in the Grand Slam and beat Krzysztof Ratajski 10-8 in the Players Championship. He hardly dominated in either.

Yet To Win Major

Rock has not yet won a major but believes he will/should. That puts pressure on him and the fact that he has lost three major quarter finals and two semi-finals reinforces that pressure. It is not uncommon for players to struggle to get past quarters and semis, and some very good players never do. I suspect Rock will, but living in the The Two Lukes era, actually winning a Major Championship will be tough.

Their H2H record is 3-0 to Rock, with wins of 10-5, 6-2 and 6-1. He is the better player and so long as he doesn’t get too tight, he should win, but what will the margin of victory be? His recent last 16 major results have been close affairs, but he has given Hood three sound beatings in 2025.

I expect Hood to get something on the scoreboard. Rock is 1.30 to win the match, Hood 3.75. I will take a chance that Rock makes things hard for himself again, and that the crowd can push Hood on to another strong performance, but Rock to prevail.

Rock is ranked 2nd for 180s per leg, but so far Hood has hit more 180s, so he has got his eye in and he may be able to trade blows, as he did with Noppert.

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 0.5 point Rock to win 4-3 @ 6.00 generally available

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 1 point over 15.5 180s @ 2.28 with Livescorebet

Evening Session

Charlie Manby vs. Gian van Veen

Manby continues to get through matches with low averages. Yesterday it was an 89.50 average in a 4-2 win over Ricky Evans. The first thing to say is that he was helped by Evans just giving up.

It was a bit pathetic really, Evans just didn’t even try once Manby levelled the match 2-2. The other big feature of the match was that Manby was dreadful on the doubles in the first two or three sets. Evans was allowed to win sets that he had no business doing.

Manby stayed in the game with his 180 hitting. He hit eleven overall and that went a long way to making up for his poor doubling. Manby says that he has a lot more in his locker, but the trick is to get his whole all round game together.

Ton Plus

Gian Van Veen is averaging 101.71 across his first three matches. He has had two tough games and even Razma got a set off him, despite averaging 89.40. That said, Van Veen has dropped just three sets. He has some punches been thrown back at him.

Manby’s toughest opponent was Cameron Menzies who averaged 91.99 when going down 2-3. Sevada didn’t even average 80, and Evans just 83.34. Van Veen is going to be a different ball game.

Gian van Veen is an elite class player and in great form. It would be a surprise to see him throw in a poor performance. The last time he averaged under 91 was in a World Youth Championship qualifier. Since then, he has played twenty one matches and hit fifteen 97+ averages, including seven of his last ten.

Gian Odds On

Van Veen is the 1.15 favourite. The total 180 market could yield some value as both can bang them in, but how long the match will be is very hard to estimate.

If everything goes to tournament form, it should be a comfortable win for Van Veen, but if Manby strings it all together, then who knows. I will have a small interest on Van Veen to continue to drop a set, but win.

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 0.5 point Gian van Veen to win 4-1 @ 3.50 with Betfred, Bresbet

Michael van Gerwen vs. Gary Anderson

Anderson brought some welcome financial relief when he landed our two bets in his 4-3 win over Jermaine Wattimena on Sunday.

It was a strange performance. Anderson looked to be in charge, Wattimena was missing a lot of doubles, but just when he should have gone in for the kill, Anderson started throwing really fast and with a lot of shoulder movement.

He lost his accuracy and let Wattimena back into the match. The Dutchman took advantage and from 1-3 down, he was able to take it to a deciding set, and that went to extra legs before Anderson won it 5-3. The best player won, but he very nearly blew it.

Easier Job

Van Gerwen had a much easier job against Arno Merk. The German only averaged 90.88 but was still able to take a set off MVG, before Mighty Mike closed it out 4-1.

Anderson has a tournament average of 100.95, MVG 96.91. Anderson has definitely had a harder path to reach this fourth-round clash, but he has been up to the task, if a bit ropey at times on Sunday. MVG hasn’t had much coming back at him but still dropped a set in all three of his matches.

H2H

On what we have seen so far, I would have to make Anderson the favourite, but we have to consider their H2H record, and that points us in a different direction. They have met seventy four times and MVG has won fifty, Anderson twenty one, with three PL draws.

They have only met once in 2025, in the Grand Slam group stage, and MVG won that 5-2 last month. In the last four years, they have met ten times and MVG has won six. On this stage, they have met four times with MVG winning three. They met at this stage in 2013 and MVG won that 4-3, but that is ancient history.

MVG is the 1.85 favourite, Anderson 2.00. MVG has not been at his best in 2025, but he wasn’t at his best in 2024 and still made the final here. This is his Manor, or at least he still has a room in it. He will be right up for this, but if Anderson can play his A game, he should be able to get MVG to drop his head. That is easier to do now. It does look like a bit of a tossup and it could well be a close match.

Four of Anderson’s last five fourth round matches here have seen over 5.50 sets and three needed a deciding set.

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 1 point over 5.5 sets @ 1.61 with Betvictor, Bresbet

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 0.5 point Anderson to win 4-3 @ 6.00 generally available

Luke Humphries vs. Kevin Doets

Doets finally faced a proper opponent in round three and beat Aspinall 4-3 with a 97.48 average. He will need something similar to be competitive here. Humphries is averaging 98.63 across his three matches and he was given a hard match against Clemens in round three with both players averaging over a ton. He won that 4-2.

Their H2H record is 4-1 to Humphries. They have only played one match on TV, at this year’s World Series were Humphries won 6-4.

Doets reached this round last year and lost 3-4 to Chris Dobey. Humphries has won four of his six fourth round matches here, losing 1-4 to Peter Wright last year, which was a major shock.

Humphries is the 1.13 favourite, Doets 7.50. Humphries is a bit short at those odds, but he really should win. I will take Doets to get a set on the board, maybe he can get more, but Humphries is in very good form.

2026 PDC WC Day 17 Tip: 0.5 point Luke Humphries to win 4-1 @ 3.50 with Bresbet

-JamesPunt