We are through the first round of action at the 11th Players Championship event in Milton Keynes with a lot of big names still in and some out early doors.
ADVERTISEMENT
The likes of Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney & Mensur Suljovic are all through. Anderson defeated Josh Payne 6-4 as he searches for another Players Championship title.
Gurney saw off Devon Petersen as he looks for a first title of 2018 and Suljovic came through a last leg decider with Ross Twell.
James Wade though a player in form won’t be claiming his first Players Championship title of 2018. ‘The Machine’ lost 6-5 to Richie Burnett.
Jonny Clayton a winner on the tour this year is also out as he lost to Ryan Harrington so he won’t be adding to his roll of honour today.
Click here for more information about the Pro Tour and the prize fund breakdown.
Last 128
Peter Wright BYE | –
Zoran Lerchbacher 6 | 4 Jose Justicia
Jason Lowe 6 | 5 Cristo Reyes
Ross Smith 6 | 5 Mario Robbe
Stephen Bunting 6 | 1 Ryan Meikle
Davy Van Baelen 6 | 5 Kevin Burness
Steve Beaton 6 | 3 George Killington
Adam Hunt 6 | 5 Joe Murnan
Dave Chisnall 6 | 5 Kirk Shepherd
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6 | 4 Madars Razma
Steve Lennon 6 | 3 Mark Wilson
Vincent Kamphuis 6 | 4 Sven Groen
Richie Burnett 6 | 5 James Wade
Bradley Brooks 6 | 4 John Davey
Keegan Brown 6 | 4 Simon Preston
Prakash Jiwa – | – Ricky Evans
Mensur Suljovic 6 | 5 Ross Twell
Paul Nicholson 6 | 4 Diogo Portela
Justin Pipe 6 | 4 Ron Meulenkamp
Simon Stevenson – | – Jamie Caven
Simon Whitlock 6 | 4 Jeffrey de Graaf
Ritchie Edhouse 6 | 1 Mark Webster
Gabriel Clemens 6 | 5 Richard North
Steve Hine 6 | 3 Toni Alcinas
Joe Cullen 6 | 4 Dawson Murschell
Brendan Dolan 6 | 4 Eddie Dootson
Nathan Aspinall 6 | 3 Steve West
Robert Marijanovic 6 | 3 Dennis Nilsson
Mervyn King 6 | 2 Robert Owen
Michael Barnard 6 | 2 Chris Quantock
James Wilson 6 | 4 Tytus Kanik
Kevin Painter 6 | 5 Luke Humphries
Michael Smith 6 | 2 Scott Darbyshire
Lee Bryant 6 | 1 John Goldie
Christian Kist 6 | 3 Jamie Lewis
Peter Jacques 6 | 4 Ronny Huybrechts
Martin Schindler 6 | 2 Kim Huybrechts
Benito van de Pas 6 | 2 Jimmy Hendriks
John Henderson 6 | 4 Arron Monk
James Richardson 6 | 2 Darren Johnson
Ian White 6 | 3 Paul Rowley
Stephen Burton 6 | 4 Aden Kirk
Alan Norris 6 | 1 Robbie Green
Danny Noppert 6 | 1 Jamie Bain
Darren Webster 6 | 1 Scott Taylor
Alan Tabern 6 | 3 Ronnie Baxter
Vincent van der Voort 6 | 3 Ryan Searle
Chris Dobey 6 | 2 Terry Temple
Ryan Harrington 6 | 5 Jonny Clayton
Ryan Joyce 6 | 4 Jason Cullen
Jelle Klaasen 6 | 4 Cody Harris
Mickey Mansell – | – Ted Evetts
Gary Anderson 6 | 4 Josh Payne
Peter Hudson 6 | 3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jermaine Wattimena 6 | 4 Adam Huckvale
Tony Newell 6 | 3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Daryl Gurney 6 | 3 Devon Petersen
Wayne Jones 6 | 2 William O’Connor
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6 | 1 Terry Jenkins
Gary Eastwood 6 | 1 Luke Woodhouse
Gerwyn Price 6 | 2 Martin Atkins (Wigan)
Matthew Edgar 6 | 2 John Part
Adrian Lewis 6 | 0 Mark Dudbridge
Jan Dekker 6 | 1 Jim Brown
Gurney saw off Devon Petersen as he looks for a first title of 2018 and Suljovic came through a last leg decider with Ross Twell.
James Wade though a player in form won’t be claiming his first Players Championship title of 2018. ‘The Machine’ lost 6-5 to Richie Burnett.
Jonny Clayton a winner on the tour this year is also out as he lost to Ryan Harrington so he won’t be adding to his roll of honour today.
Click here for more information about the Pro Tour and the prize fund breakdown.
Last 128
Peter Wright BYE | –
Zoran Lerchbacher 6 | 4 Jose Justicia
Jason Lowe 6 | 5 Cristo Reyes
Ross Smith 6 | 5 Mario Robbe
Stephen Bunting 6 | 1 Ryan Meikle
Davy Van Baelen 6 | 5 Kevin Burness
Steve Beaton 6 | 3 George Killington
Adam Hunt 6 | 5 Joe Murnan
Dave Chisnall 6 | 5 Kirk Shepherd
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6 | 4 Madars Razma
Steve Lennon 6 | 3 Mark Wilson
Vincent Kamphuis 6 | 4 Sven Groen
Richie Burnett 6 | 5 James Wade
Bradley Brooks 6 | 4 John Davey
Keegan Brown 6 | 4 Simon Preston
Prakash Jiwa – | – Ricky Evans
Mensur Suljovic 6 | 5 Ross Twell
Paul Nicholson 6 | 4 Diogo Portela
Justin Pipe 6 | 4 Ron Meulenkamp
Simon Stevenson – | – Jamie Caven
Simon Whitlock 6 | 4 Jeffrey de Graaf
Ritchie Edhouse 6 | 1 Mark Webster
Gabriel Clemens 6 | 5 Richard North
Steve Hine 6 | 3 Toni Alcinas
Joe Cullen 6 | 4 Dawson Murschell
Brendan Dolan 6 | 4 Eddie Dootson
Nathan Aspinall 6 | 3 Steve West
Robert Marijanovic 6 | 3 Dennis Nilsson
Mervyn King 6 | 2 Robert Owen
Michael Barnard 6 | 2 Chris Quantock
James Wilson 6 | 4 Tytus Kanik
Kevin Painter 6 | 5 Luke Humphries
Michael Smith 6 | 2 Scott Darbyshire
Lee Bryant 6 | 1 John Goldie
Christian Kist 6 | 3 Jamie Lewis
Peter Jacques 6 | 4 Ronny Huybrechts
Martin Schindler 6 | 2 Kim Huybrechts
Benito van de Pas 6 | 2 Jimmy Hendriks
John Henderson 6 | 4 Arron Monk
James Richardson 6 | 2 Darren Johnson
Ian White 6 | 3 Paul Rowley
Stephen Burton 6 | 4 Aden Kirk
Alan Norris 6 | 1 Robbie Green
Danny Noppert 6 | 1 Jamie Bain
Darren Webster 6 | 1 Scott Taylor
Alan Tabern 6 | 3 Ronnie Baxter
Vincent van der Voort 6 | 3 Ryan Searle
Chris Dobey 6 | 2 Terry Temple
Ryan Harrington 6 | 5 Jonny Clayton
Ryan Joyce 6 | 4 Jason Cullen
Jelle Klaasen 6 | 4 Cody Harris
Mickey Mansell – | – Ted Evetts
Gary Anderson 6 | 4 Josh Payne
Peter Hudson 6 | 3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jermaine Wattimena 6 | 4 Adam Huckvale
Tony Newell 6 | 3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Daryl Gurney 6 | 3 Devon Petersen
Wayne Jones 6 | 2 William O’Connor
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6 | 1 Terry Jenkins
Gary Eastwood 6 | 1 Luke Woodhouse
Gerwyn Price 6 | 2 Martin Atkins (Wigan)
Matthew Edgar 6 | 2 John Part
Adrian Lewis 6 | 0 Mark Dudbridge
Jan Dekker 6 | 1 Jim Brown
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026