2026 PDC WC Day 8 Preview

Wednesday didn’t go to plan for James Punt and we ended up coming up dry. Thursday is another day, fingers crossed we get back to winning ways. You can check out James’ 2026 PDC WC Day 8 preview and tips below.

Afternoon Session

Callan Rydz vs. Patrik Kovacs

Kovacs qualified by winning the Hungarian Super League and we have seen him representing Hungary in four World Cups. His seasonal average is 82.17.

Callan Rydz can’t complain about his luck in the draw. He is a two-time quarter finalist at Ally Pally and has featured in six previous World Championships, winning five of his first round matches. He got a 3-0 win over a Croatian qualifier last year and he should get a similar result here.

Rydz has lost seven of his last ten matches but he has been playing a lot of good players and hitting some good scores. He is, of course, a total fruit cake and prone to self-destruction, but I suspect he will be fine today.

Rydz is the 1.15 favourite and just 2.20 to win 3-0. That is probably a good bet, but due to his propensity to beat himself, I’ll skip it.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: No Bet

Thibault Tricole vs. Motomu Saki

Tricole became the first Frenchman to win a PDC World Championship match when he beat Mario Vandenbogaerde in 2024. He followed that up by beating Joe Comito 3-1 in last year’s first round. Can he make it a hattrick of first round wins?

His seasonal average is a modest 89.49 but his A-game is high 90s. He has not hit a ton plus average since March, some 82 matches ago. Tricole has won six of his last ten matches and has played some good stuff, but he lacks much consistency.

Motomu Saki qualified by coming second on the Asian Tour OOM. His seasonal average is 86.74 but he has a 100+ A-game. He is another dangerous Japanese player and he has a decent chance to win this. He is making his TV debut, never mind his World Championship debut.

Tricole is the 1.53 favourite with Sakai 2.63, in from 2.75 yesterday. The Japanese player could have got a tougher draw than this and he gets the nod.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: 1 point Motomu Sakai to win @ 2.63 with SpreadEx, BET365

Ryan Joyce vs. Owen Bates

The player formerly known as ‘The Master’ is now just plain old Owen Bates. He made his debut in last year’s Championship and lost his first round match 2-3 to Steve Lennon.

Bates qualified via the Development OOM, where he finished third, winning two titles. He also has a tour card and plays on the Pro Tour and made two Euro events, but lost both first round matches. His recent form at senior level is not good, losing seven of his last ten matches. Bates has not progressed much in 2025.

Ryan Joyce has now played in seven World Championships. He made the quarter finals on debut 2019 and the fourth-round last year. Joyce has won five of his seven first round matches here.

Recent Form

His recent form is decent, reaching the European Championship quarter finals and the semi-final of PC33 at the very end of October. Joyce has won six of his last ten matches and he is playing OK, but not his best.

These two have played twice before with Joyce winning both, 6-5. They have never met on a stage or on TV.

Joyce is the 1.33 favourite, with Bates 3.60. Bates hits more 180s than Joyce but in turn Joyce is a better finisher which may account for their two close matches. Bates can give himself chances more often, Joyce takes his more often.

Joyce has only had one 3-0 win in the first round here and that was against Anastasia Dobromyslova. He has won two 3-1 and the other two 3-2. I suspect this will be 3-1 or 3-2 to Joyce.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: 0.5 point Ryan Joyce to win 3-2 @ 5.00 with Paddy Power, Skybet

Mike de Decker vs. David Munyua

Munyua is the African qualifier and the first Kenyan to play in a PDC World Championship. He beat Cameron Carolissen in the final and we saw Carolissen take Wessel Nijman to a deciding set here last year. We also had a newbie player from the Bahamas who took the first set off Jeffrey de Graaf here last year and you can never tell just what these big outsiders are capable of.

Munya’s seasonal average is just 75.05 so we shouldn’t expect too much, but these are always fun to watch and a nightmare for the big favourite, who will have the whole crowd against them.

De Decker has lost five of his last ten matches, but he should be fine here. He is the 1.03 favourite with Munyua 23.00, a bit shorter than Carolissen was against Nijman last year. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: No Bet

Evening Session

Jermaine Wattimena vs. Dominik Gruellich

Wattimena picked up two Players Championship titles in the latter half of the season and Gruellich was runner up in PC14 earlier in the year. That was one of the events held in the Netherlands and they tend not to be so well attended by the big names.

Wattimena is by far the more experienced player and is making his twelfth appearance in the PDC World Championship. He hasn’t made much of his chances and never got further than the third round.

Form Of His Life

However, he is playing better that he ever has before and comes here on the back of making the semi-finals of the Players Championship finals. His win rate in 2025 is 68% and he has won seven of his last ten matches. Wattimena has hit some very big averages in 2025 but he still lacks the consistency of the very top players.

Gruellich is another player on the Development tour and Pro Tour rotas after winning a tour card in January. He has lost his last ten matches at senior level, but he has taken a few big scalps in his first season, so he is no mug.

Wattimena is many people’s idea of a dark horse for the Championship and if he can bring his A-game on a consistent basis, he could have a good run, but his draw is not the best. He is the 1.14 favourite, Gruellich 6.00. It is not really a betting match for me. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: No Bet

Dave Chisnall vs. Fallon Sherrock

This match will get plenty of attention but it is a complete head scratcher.

Chisnall has been out of form for a year or so. His win rate in 2025 is just 52% and his 12 month seasonal average only 91.86. Chizzy has lost six of his last ten matches. He hit five sub-90 averages in those ten and even one sub-80. The good news for Chisnall is that Fallon Sherrock is not in good form either.

Sherrock has won two Women’s Series titles in 2025, but like everyone else, finds it hard to beat Beau Greaves. Sherrock has tried to play the men in some Challenge Tour events and most recently at the MODUS Super Series, losing seven from ten at that level.

Health Issues

Sherrock has had health problems and isn’t quite the player she was when making history in 2020 by beating Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic to make the third round. She has decided to take time off in 2026 to get treatment for a kidney problem. This will be her last event before her planned break from the sport.

Dave Chisnall is the 1.20 favourite, Sherrock 4.80. It is a hard one to call. Chisnall is easy to oppose, but he should be able to beat Sherrock. That said, his confidence is in the bin and he will have the crowd against him. For her part, Sherrock isn’t at her best but she is a big stage player. She has raised her game when getting the chance to play in the TV events.

Sherrock has played in five PDC World championships and since winning her first two matches in the 2020 championship, she has lost her last four first round matches, 2-3, 1-3, 1-3 and 2-3. She has always got at least one set on the board.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: 0.5 point Dave Chisnall to win 3-1 @ 3.40 with Betfred

Michael van Gerwen vs. Mitsuhiko Tatsunami

After a very difficult season, MVG comes here after a busy schedule of exhibition events. He didn’t qualify for the Players Championship finals so he hasn’t played competitively since losing in the second round of the Grand Slam, some five weeks ago.

I expect he will be well up for this event. His comeback has to start somewhere and why not at the biggest one of all? He was runner up last year and he wasn’t greatly fancied either then. MVG has lost five of his last ten matches before his time on the exhibition circuit, and he is still playing to a high level, just without the confidence.

Mitsuhiko Tatsunami won the Japanese Steel Tip Tour and he also won a title on the Asian Tour. His seasonal average is 82.18. This will be his World Championship debut and it is a pretty tough draw.

Van Gerwen has won his opening match here for the last fourteen years and has made four of the last seven finals. He is the 1.03 favourite and my enthusiasm for Japanese players has its limits. No bet.

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: No Bet

Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Alexis Toylo

Ratajski may not be the quickest of players, but he will look like Ricky Evans compared to Alexis Tooslow.

The Philippine is right on the limit of taking the piss. He played in the recent Grand Slam of Darts where he beat Stephen Bunting 5-4 in the group stage. Bunting just couldn’t cope with the lack of pace and he got frustrated and lost. Toylo didn’t play well, he just put Bunting into a discomfort zone and he failed to cope with it. I doubt The Polish Eagle will have the same problem.

Previous

These two have previous and met on this stage last year in the second round. Toylo beat Richard Veenstra 3-0 in the first round, another quick player who didn’t cope, and he then lost 1-3 to Ratajski, despite playing well and averaging 96.39.

Ratajski was prepared for the pace. He just took himself to the back of the stage and walked about, kept his head down and didn’t rush to the board for his turns. He was professional. The Polish Eagle didn’t get frustrated, he won.

I guess Ratajski would not have been delighted with the draw, but neither would Toylo. He knows he can’t frustrate Ratajski with his pace, and he couldn’t beat him with his A-game either.

Ratajski is in decent form, winning six of his last ten matches and he beat Gian Van Veen in the Players Championship before giving Josh Rock a fright in the third round, losing 8-10. Ratajski has won his last six first round matches here and is the 1.20 favourite to do so again. Another 3-1?

2026 PDC WC Day 8 Tip: 0.5 point Krzysztof Ratajski to win 3-1 @ 3.50 with Betfred

-JamesPunt