First round exit for Peter Wright at Players Championship 1, Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall prevail in last-leg deciders
PDC
Peter Wright is the biggest casualty in the first Players Championship tournament of the season. The Scotsman's worrying form showed no signs of improvement in Wigan.
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Maik Kuivenhoven was the man who beat him. Recording a 6-5 victory over Wright, whilst fellow Dutchmen, Richard Veenstra eliminated former world youth champion Josh Rock 6-2 and Raymond van Barneveld won 6-3 over Darren Beveridge.
Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall were both pushed all the way but managed to hold on for a 6-5 against Karel Sedlacek and Aden Kirk respectively.
Elsewhere, Luke Humphries saw off Robert Owen, Luke Littler was very impressive once again in victory over Jim Williams and the likes of Mensur Suljovic, Michael Smith, Chris Dobey, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson and Andrew Gilding were all also amongst the first round winners.
Results Players Championship 1
Last 128
Michele Turetta 6 | 1 Dave Chisnall
Paul Krohne 6 | 3 William O'Connor
Luke Woodhouse 6 | 3 Steve Lennon
Luke Littler 6 | 1 Jim Williams
Lukas Wenig 6 | 3 Joe Cullen
Leighton Bennett 6 | 4 Brett Claydon
Maik Kuivenhoven 6 | 5 Peter Wright
Cameron Menzies 6 | 3 Jermaine Wattimena
Thibault Tricole 6 | 5 Jonny Clayton
Mensur Suljovic 6 | 4 Danny Jansen
James Wade 6 | 1 Oskar Lukasiak
Jamie Hughes 6 | 2 Chris Landman
Michael Smith 6 | 3 Darryl Pilgrim
James Hurrell 6 | 5 Danny van Trijp
Ryan Joyce 6 | 2 Jacques Labre
Mervyn King 6 | 5 Callum Goffin
Alan Soutar 6 | 4 Damon Heta
Robbie Knops 6 | 3 Robert Grundy
Raymond van Barneveld 6 | 3 Darren Beveridge
Chris Dobey 6 | 2 Keane Barry
Gary Anderson 6 | 1 Geert Nentjes
Lee Evans 6 | 5 Daniel Klose
Andrew Gilding 6 | 4 Callan Rydz
Stephen Burton 6 | 1 William Borland
Nick Kenny 6 | 4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Niels Zonneveld 6 | 4 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Graham Usher 6 | 5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Kevin Doets 6 | 2 Keegan Brown
Krzysztof Ratajski 6 | 2 Ritchie Edhouse
Mickey Mansell 6 | 2 Josh Payne
Daryl Gurney 6 | 0 Ryan Meikle
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6 | 4 Owen Roelofs
Luke Humphries 6 | 2 Robert Owen
Ian White 6 | 0 Martin Lukeman
Mike De Decker 6 | 4 Florian Hempel
Vincent van der Voort 6 | 5 Jurjen van der Velde
Dom Taylor 6 | 4 Stephen Bunting
Ricky Evans 6 | 4 Scott Williams
Ryan Searle 6 | 1 Simon Whitlock
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6 | 5 Stefan Bellmont
Rob Cross 6 | 4 Adam Gawlas
Andy Baetens 6 | 5 Jelle Klaasen
Jose De Sousa 6 | 2 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Jules van Dongen 6 | 5 Arron Monk
Danny Noppert 6 | 2 Owen Bates
Nathan Rafferty 6 | 5 George Killington
Nathan Aspinall 6 | 5 Aden Kirk
Patrick Geeraets 6 | 1 Haupai Puha
Gerwyn Price 6 | 5 Karel Sedlacek
Matthew Dennant 6 | 5 Boris Krcmar
Brendan Dolan 6 | 3 Martijn Dragt
Wessel Nijman 6 | 2 Jitse Van der Wal
Ricardo Pietreczko 6 | 5 Radek Szaganski
Steve Beaton 6 | 5 Madars Razma
Martin Schindler 6 | 1 Matt Campbell
Adam Smith-Neale 6 | 5 Graham Hall
Richard Veenstra 6 | 2 Josh Rock
Kim Huybrechts 6 | 2 Danny Lauby
Gabriel Clemens 6 | 1 Joshua Richardson
Berry van Peer 6 | 5 Adam Warner
Ross Smith 6 | 2 Rhys Griffin
Pascal Rupprecht 6 | 5 Christian Perez
Gian van Veen 6 | 1 Jeffrey De Graaf
Benjamin Drue Giant 6 | 3 Adam Hunt
Last 64
Michele Turetta - | - Paul Krohne
Luke Woodhouse - | - Luke Littler
Lukas Wenig - | - Leighton Bennett
Maik Kuivenhoven - | - Cameron Menzies
Thibault Tricole - | - Mensur Suljovic
James Wade - | - Jamie Hughes
Michael Smith - | - James Hurrell
Ryan Joyce - | - Mervyn King
Alan Soutar - | - Robbie Knops
Raymond van Barneveld - | - Chris Dobey
Gary Anderson - | - Lee Evans
Andrew Gilding - | - Stephen Burton
Nick Kenny - | - Niels Zonneveld
Graham Usher - | - Kevin Doets
Krzysztof Ratajski - | - Mickey Mansell
Daryl Gurney - | - Mario Vandenbogaerde
Luke Humphries - | - Ian White
Mike De Decker - | - Vincent van der Voort
Dom Taylor - | - Ricky Evans
Ryan Searle - | - Jeffrey Sparidaans
Rob Cross - | - Andy Baetens
Jose De Sousa - | - Jules van Dongen
Danny Noppert - | - Nathan Rafferty
Nathan Aspinall - | - Patrick Geeraets
Gerwyn Price - | - Matthew Dennant
Brendan Dolan - | - Wessel Nijman
Ricardo Pietreczko - | - Steve Beaton
Martin Schindler - | - Adam Smith-Neale
Richard Veenstra - | - Kim Huybrechts
Gabriel Clemens - | - Berry van Peer
Ross Smith - | - Pascal Rupprecht
Gian van Veen - | - Benjamin Drue Reus
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He produced some impressive numbers in that qualifying campaign. I'm excited to see him compete at the World Championship once again, even if it will be difficult to replicate last year's success even with an improved performance, with the draw playing a huge role in determining his fortunes.Deduce635811-11-2026
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- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
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- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
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