2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Preview – JP
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Preview
James Punt made a blistering start to the week on Monday, firing in four winners from six tips. Check out his 2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday preview and tips below.
Profitable Start
It was an interesting, and profitable (+3.25 points), first night at the Grand Prix. Only two of the top 16 seeds were beaten but one of them was Luke Littler. The exit of the odds on favourite has shaken up the outright market.
Luke Humphries is now the 4.50 favourite, Gerwyn Price 6.00, Ross Smith 12.00, our outright selection James Wade 15.00 and Gian van Veen 17.00.
It was a night of close matches, with just two of the eight matches being won in two sets. Will we have more close matches tonight, or will things revert to the norm?
Chris Dobey vs. Jermaine Wattimena
As ever we have the Dobey Dilemma. He was in great form in last week’s Players Championships, reaching back-to-back quarter finals and hitting big averages, but on stage, he has lost six of his last ten.
There may be, for once, a good reason to back him in a TV match. The format. Dobey is much more used to the double in format as it is used in the local leagues in the North East, and we saw fellow Geordie, Ryan Joyce dump MVG out of the tournament last night. His tournament record is mixed. He has played six and lost three first round matches but has also reached a semi-final and two quarter finals.
In Form
Like Dobey, Wattimena has won eight of his last ten matches, reaching a quarter final and a semi-final in last week’s Players Championships. Also, like Dobey, his stage form hasn’t been good, losing seven of his last ten. Wattimena has played in four previous Grand Prix and lost two first round matches.
Their H2H record is 8-4 to Wattimena, 1-1 in 2026 and on stage 3-1 to the Dutchman. Dobey is the 1.62 favourite, Wattimena 2.38. It is a very hard one to call. There might be some value in Wattimena, but in this format, Dobey might have the edge. No bet.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: No Bet
Ryan Searle vs. William O’Connor
O’Connor has played in four Grand Prix and never won a match. His recent form is decent with six wins from his last ten matches.
Ryan Searle has played in six Grand Prix, losing four first round matches, and he has won just three matches in total. His recent form isn’t great, winning five of his last ten matches. His A game is better than O’Connor’s, but is consistency is not what it should be. He is hard to back with much confidence.
Their H2H record is 8-4 to Searle and he won their last TV match 10-6 in July’s Matchplay. O’Connor got some sort of revenge with a 6-4 win on the Euro Tour earlier this month. On stage, Searle is 3-1.
Searle is the 1.62 favourite, O’Connor 2.40. Much like the previous match, the odds look about right and neither player fills me with any confidence. No bet.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: No Bet
Josh Rock vs. Niels Zonneveld
Another tricky looking match, but Rock, as the 1.67 favourite, is opposable. Rock has lost five of his last ten matches and has had an iffy season. In the Majors, he has done OK. The quarter final of The Masters, UK Open semi-final and the quarter finals of the Matchplay. He lost to Luke littler in all three. Maybe he stays off the pop for the big ones? His record in the Grand Prix is played three and won one match.
Zonneveld is making his debut in the tournament. He comes in decent form having won seven of his last ten matches, reaching the semi-final of PC30 last week. His record in the few Majors he has played in is nothing to write home about.
Close H2H
Their H2H record is 3-2 to Zonneveld. He has won their last three in a row, and two in 2026. In terms of their stats, there really isn’t much between the two. Zonneveld is a little better on the doubles and maybe that will be the difference.
Rock is the favourite, but Zonneveld is being backed and is now at biggest a 2.38 shot, but as short as 2.15. Rock is the more experienced player on the TV stage, but there is no value in his odds. Zonneveld is a little too short for me. Zonneveld will not fear facing rock given their recent H2H form and it could be a bit of struggle for both.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: 1 point over 2.5 sets @ 2.05 with Boylesports
James Wade vs. Joe Cullen
Wade is in great form, winning eleven of his last twelve matches and winning two tournaments. Cullen has lost seven of his last ten matches.
This a repeat of last year’s first round match, which Cullen won 2-1. Wade has lost seven of his last ten first round matches in the Grand Prix, but he hasn’t been in as good of form as he is right now, for some time.
Their overall H2H record is 12-9 to Wade and given their relative recent form, hopefully Wade prevails. He is the 1.36 favourite, Cullen 3.25. Wade is being backed but as we are on him outright, I am not going to get involved in this one.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: No Bet
Gary Anderson vs. Damon Heta
Anderson has got his grumpy head on again. Moaning about the Grand Slam qualifiers even existing and about stupid questions from the press. He has won his last three first round matches here (all 2-1) and his recent form see six wins from his last ten matches, but he hasn’t played for over three weeks, having declined his invite to the World Series finals.
Damon Heta has also won six of his last ten matches and is playing OK but blowing a bit hot and cold. His tournament record is poor, losing all five of his first-round matches, and losing them all 1-2.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: 1 point Gary Anderson to win 2-1 @ 3.50 with Boylesports
Gian van Veen vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
An all-Dutch clash with the in-form Van Veen, who has won eight of his last ten matches, and the mercurial Van Duijvenbode. Dirk has won six of his last ten matches, but he lost to Van Veen 8-10 in the World Series quarter finals two weeks ago. Neither player will be happy with their consistency, but Van Veen is playing better, more often.
Van Veen has played two first round matches here, and lost both, but he did average 106 in a 0-2 loss to Littler last year. Dirk has played five Grand Prix and was runner up in 2020 and a quarter finalist last year but has lost his other three first round matches.
Dirk is 4-2 in their H2H record, but Van Veen has won their last two, including a 6-0 win in their penultimate match, which was a year ago. Van Veen is the better player and is significantly better on the doubles.
Gian van Veen is the 1.57 favourite, Van Duijvenbode 2.50. Both players are big 180 hitters and their last match produced 14 from 18 legs. The overs market makes a bit more appeal than backing either player outright.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: 1 point over 4.5 180s @ 1.83 with Ladbrokes, BET365, Skybet
Luke Humphries vs. Dave Chisnall
Maybe not the match it might once have been. Chisnall’s achievement was just to qualify. He has hit a bit of form, winning seven of his last ten matches and reaching a Euro Tour semi-final. However, half those matches saw sub 90 averages, and that shouldn’t get very far against Humphries.
Humphries has made the last three finals here and is in decent form, winning seven from ten. He is scoring well, if not quite his best. Humphries has won his last four matches against Chisnall, including two TV matches in 2026, winning 3-1 at the Masters and 10-4 at the UK Open. He has won three of his five first round matches here 2-0.
2026 World Grand Prix Tuesday Tip: 1 point Luke Humphries to win 2-0 @ 1.73 with Ladbrokes, Skybet, Betfair
Stephen Bunting vs. Andrew Gilding
Bunting has played in ten previous Grand Prix and won seven of his first-round games. He comes here having lost seven of his last ten matches. He isn’t playing as badly as that sounds, but his confidence has taken a hit.
Andrew Gilding isn’t in great form himself, losing five of his last ten and, scoring wise, he isn’t playing as well as Bunting. Gilding has lost three of his five first round matches in the Grand Prix.
Their H2H record is 8-3 to Bunting, but it is 3-3 in their last six. Bunting can struggle with the slower players, but Gilding is more deliberate than out and out slow.
Bunting is the 1.53 favourite and while I would have him as the favourite, he has lost seven of his last ten. If things get a bit sticky, he could crack. Gilding is tempting at 2.50, but just not quite enough. No bet.
