2026 World Grand Prix Monday Preview – JP
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Preview
James Punt has already posted his outright preview and ante-post tips, click here to see them. Check out his 2026 World Grand Prix Monday preview and tips below.
Punt Pointer
Just as little pointer for these first-round matches, in the last 80 first round matches, 38 have needed a third set, and 39 were won by the player from the Pro Tour qualifiers
Danny Noppert vs. Niko Springer
Noppert has played in eight previous Grand Prix, has won five of his first round matches, and is a two-time semi-finalist. His recent form is decent with six wins from his last ten but he did get a couple of 0-6 drubbings on the Euro Tour vs Littler and Wade. His scoring is usually strong and he will be hard to beat.
Springer is not in good form, losing six of his last ten matches. He lost 0-2 to Stephen Bunting on his Grand Prix debut last year.
Their H2H record is 2-1 to Noppert and they have all been on the Euro Tour, including an 8-7 win for Springer in the final of 2025 Hungarian Darts Trophy.
I expect Noppert to prevail, but he has found it tough to beat Springer and he might need a deciding set.
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 0.5 point Noppert to win 2-1 @ 3.50 generally available
Ross Smith vs. Cameron Menzies
Two in-form players. Menzies won PC29 six days ago, while Smith won the World Series of Darts finals a couple of weeks ago. Smudger is on a real roll, wining sixteen of his last eighteen matches.
Smith is the 1.50 favourite and he is 9-4 against Menzies, winning their last match 7-0 and he is 3-0 in 2026. We are on Smith to win his quarter but I will have a play on the 180 market here. Both are top 20 players for 180s per leg and in their three matches in 2026 they have a combined strike rate of 0.65 per leg.
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point over 4.5 180s @ 1.80 generally available
Nathan Aspinall vs. Kevin Doets
This could be tasty. Two players who can score heavily can make for a good match. Aspinall is playing well, winning seven of his last ten matches. His first-round record here is patchy, losing four from eight played, but he was runner up in 2022.
Doets is making his debut in the Grand Prix. He is in good form, winning eight of his last ten matches and hitting some big averages, but he lacks the consistency of Aspinall.
Their H2H record is 7-2 to Doets, he has won both their TV matches and is 4-1 on stage. That is a surprise. Doets is the 2.10 outsider and looks the value bet.
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point Kevin Doets to win @ 2.10 with Boylesports, Betfair, SpreadEx
Jonny Clayton vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Clayton won this in 2021, was a quarter finalist in 2024 and a semi-finalist last year. He gets on with the format. His recent form is OK, winning six of his last ten matches and he is having plenty of good runs in tournaments, his last being a semi-final run at the World Series finals.
Ratajski has lost six of his last ten matches, and his last four in a row, but he hasn’t played badly, outside of a poor display against Anderson on the Euro Tour. He rarely plays badly and has won his last four first round matches here.
Their H2H record is 9-7 to Clayton and he beat Ratajski 3-2 in the 2021 quarter final. Clayton is the 1.62 favourite, Ratajski 2.50. Given their recent form, that looks about right. Four of Ratajski’s first round matches have required a deciding set and I was tempted with an overs bet, but Jonny Clayton has only played three sets twice in his eight first rounds. No bet.
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: No Bet
Gerwyn Price vs. Sebastian Bialecki
I am not sure if this is a betting match, but I am looking forward to it. Two very different characters and a big 1.33 favourite in the shape of Gerwyn Price. The Iceman has only lost one of his last nine first round matches in the Grand Prix. He is a three-time finalist and a quarter finalist last year, so he gets the format. His recent form sees seven wins from his last ten.
Bialecki is a very good doubles hitter and the format should suit him. It is tough that he has drawn a tournament specialist and a player who he has lost to four times. The bookish Pole is the 3.75 outsider and he might prove awkward if he kicks off on the doubles, but Price will likely have too much firepower. No bet.
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: No Bet
Michael van Gerwen vs. Ryan Joyce
I Imagine MVG will have been disappointed when he drew Joyce. Not that Joyce is a better player, just that he is a monster on the outer ring and this format suits his game. MVG is not great on the outer ring these days and it is costing him matches. He is not in good form, losing five of his last ten matches and lost his last two first round matches here.
Joyce is not intimidated by anyone and he just plays the board. When he plays well, he is very hard to beat. He has only ever qualified for three Grand Prix before this and reached the semi-final in his second visit. He has won six of his last ten matches and while he will never outscore MVG, he can finish better, and in this format, should start better.
MVG is 10-3 with Joyce but it is 3-3 in their last six. MVG is the 1.57 favourite but the money is going down on Joyce, and my is following it in.
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point Ryan Joyce to win @ 2.70 with Boylesports
Luke Littler vs. Luke Woodhouse
Another all-Luke affair. Not the usual Littler vs. Humphries but the much-improved Luke Woodhouse. He is a player who has transformed his game in the last two or three years. He had a poor, negative mental attitude for years and it held him back. But now he is more positive, doesn’t beat himself up and he wins more matches and is now winning titles. He is a good case study in self-improvement.
Woody has won six of his last ten matches and he is playing a lot of good darts. Six ton plus averages in those ten matches and he is playing consistently well. He has played in three Grand Prix and won two first round matches, but he has drawn the short straw this time.
A Cut Above
Littler is the best player in the world, and by some margin. He lives to play big matches on the big stages, and he doesn’t lose many. He has one weakness, and that is his need to be liked. If the crowd get on his back, he reacts. That can put his mind off the job.
He tends to get more hate outside of the UK, but the world is full of wankers, and no doubt Leicester has its fair share. For some people, baiting sports stars gives them a kick. Shouting abuse at football matches or whistling at darts players, they enjoy being an arsehole. The best thing to do is ignore them. Give them a reaction and you are feeding the fire.
Easy To Wind Up
I think by his comments about Germans, and now the Dutch, Littler has made it clear that he is easy to wind up. And those that want to, will try and push his buttons. I don’t expect him to get too many whistles here, but he has lost it with UK fans as well as Europeans. Playing Rob Cross in last year’s World Championship was a case in point.
Anyway, this match is a potential banana skin. The first round is tricky for all the top players. A very short format is a leveller. Woodhouse is a very good player and if he starts better than Littler, the world number one could be vulnerable.
Their H2H record is 2-0 to Littler and he is the 1.20 favourite, Woodhouse 5.00. I think Littler wins, but maybe Woody can get something out of the match?
2026 World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point over 2.5 sets @ 3.00 with Betfair
Wessel Nijman vs. Rob Cross
This is a repeat of their first-round match here last year, which Rob Cross won 2-1. Nijman has not yet really taken his best game to the big TV stages. It will come, but so far, he hasn’t kicked on.
Cross has been there and done it all, except in this tournament. The only Major he hasn’t reached the final of. His best days may be behind him, but he can still play and he is in decent form, if a little inconsistent. Cross has only got beyond the second round once in his previous nine Grand Prix, so it is not a format he enjoys.
Nijman is the 1.73 favourite, Cross 2.10 and he is attracting the money. Nijman is 4-1 vs. Cross and that only win for Cross was here last year. I will risk a small bet on history repeating itself.
