Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson through Players Championship 26 opener, Michael Smith main casualty
PDC
The first round is complete at Players Championship 26 with Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson among the winners to end the Last 128.
ADVERTISEMENT
Price saw off Graham Usher 6-4, while Anderson after his title win yesterday didn't decide to stay in bed as he said in his post match interview and saw off Jeffrey Sparidaans to start the day.
Luke Humphries who didn't play yesterday was involved today and saw off Tony Martinez to start off his campaign. But for Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall, it was another early exit.
Smith lost to Vincent van der Voort 6-3, while Chisnall was seen off by Daniel Klose 6-2 with the latter being number one seed today. William O'Connor is the first through to the Last 32 also with the first victory of the Last 64 going to the Magpie.
Read also
Players Championship 26
Last 128
Ryan Joyce 6 | 3 Callan Rydz
Alan Soutar 6 | 5 Callum Goffin
Daniel Klose 6 | 2 Dave Chisnall
Nick Kenny 6 | 5 Madars Razma
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6 | 5 Martin Schindler
William O'Connor 6 | 2 Shaun Wilkinson
Ryan Searle 6 | 1 Niels Zonneveld
Mervyn King 6 | 3 Danny van Trijp
Maik Kuivenhoven 6 | 5 Brendan Dolan
Keane Barry 6 | 4 Scott Waites
Arron Monk 6 | 4 Danny Noppert
Andy Boulton 6 | 1 Martin Lukeman
Jose De Sousa 6 | 4 Jose Justicia
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez 6 | 2 James Wilson
Vincent van der Voort 6 | 3 Michael Smith
Jim Williams 6 | 4 Geert Nentjes
Cameron Menzies 6 | 3 Raymond van Barneveld
Jules van Dongen 6 | 3 Berry van Peer
Damon Heta 6 | 2 Richard Veenstra
Ritchie Edhouse 6 | 5 Adam Gawlas
Andrew Gilding 6 | 3 Owen Bates
Ricky Evans 6 | 5 Mickey Mansell
Stephen Bunting 6 | 1 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Radek Szaganski 6 | 5 Danny Jansen
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6 | 2 Ted Evetts
Nathan Rafferty 6 | 2 Simon Whitlock
Josh Rock 6 | 4 Martijn Kleermaker
Vladimir Andersen 6 | 3 Jamie Clark
Daryl Gurney 6 | 5 Jimmy Hendriks
Jamie Hughes 6 | 0 Keegan Brown
Peter Wright 6 | 4 Ryan Meikle
Jermaine Wattimena 6 | 0 Robbie Knops
Gian van Veen 6 | 1 Brian Raman
Mensur Suljovic 6 | 5 Boris Krcmar
Luke Humphries 6 | 2 Tony Martinez
Ronny Huybrechts 6 | 1 Graham Hall
Ross Smith 6 | 0 Joe Murnan
Stephen Burton 6 | 3 Dylan Slevin
Matt Campbell 6 | 4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Florian Hempel 6 | 3 Richie Burnett
Scott Williams 6 | 2 Gabriel Clemens
Ian White 6 | 3 Adam Smith-Neale
Jonny Clayton 6 | 3 Steve Beaton
Lee Evans 6 | 3 Devon Petersen
Darius Labanauskas 6 | 1 Mike De Decker
Josh Payne 6 | 3 Bradley Brooks
Gary Anderson 6 | 3 Jeffrey Sparidaans
John O'Shea 6 | 4 Jacques Labre
Luke Woodhouse 6 | 2 Connor Scutt
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6 | 4 Jurjen van der Velde
Gerwyn Price 6 | 4 Graham Usher
Ross Montgomery 6 | 5 Darren Webster
James Wade 6 | 4 Owen Roelofs
Nick Fullwell 6 | 5 Christian Kist
Jeff Smith 6 | 3 Joe Cullen
Chris Landman 6 | 3 Cam Crabtree
Chris Dobey 6 | 1 Adam Warner
Wesley Plaisier 6 | 5 George Killington
Rob Cross 6 | 3 Karel Sedlacek
Kim Huybrechts 6 | 3 Steve Lennon
Kevin Doets 6 | 4 Nathan Aspinall
Robert Owen 6 | 5 Pascal Rupprecht
Krzysztof Ratajski 6 | 1 Damian Mol
Robert Grundy 6 | 3 Kevin Burness
Last 64
Ryan Joyce - | - Alan Soutar
Daniel Klose - | - Nick Kenny
William O'Connor 6 | 0 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Ryan Searle - | - Mervyn King
Maik Kuivenhoven - | - Keane Barry
Arron Monk - | - Andy Boulton
Jose De Sousa - | - Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Vincent van der Voort - | - Jim Williams
Cameron Menzies - | - Jules van Dongen
Damon Heta - | - Ritchie Edhouse
Andrew Gilding - | - Ricky Evans
Stephen Bunting - | - Radek Szaganski
Dimitri Van den Bergh - | - Nathan Rafferty
Josh Rock - | - Vladimir Andersen
Daryl Gurney - | - Jamie Hughes
Peter Wright - | - Jermaine Wattimena
Gian van Veen - | - Mensur Suljovic
Luke Humphries - | - Ronny Huybrechts
Ross Smith - | - Stephen Burton
Matt Campbell - | - Florian Hempel
Scott Williams - | - Ian White
Jonny Clayton - | - Lee Evans
Darius Labanauskas - | - Josh Payne
Gary Anderson - | - John O'Shea
Luke Woodhouse - | - Mario Vandenbogaerde
Gerwyn Price - | - Ross Montgomery
James Wade - | - Nick Fullwell
Jeff Smith - | - Chris Landman
Chris Dobey - | - Wesley Plaisier
Rob Cross - | - Kim Huybrechts
Kevin Doets - | - Robert Owen
Krzysztof Ratajski - | - Robert Grundy

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
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- 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
- 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







