“I’ve always wanted to be at the Worlds after Christmas” – Ryan Meikle senses huge opportunity at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship

Ryan Meikle enjoyed an afternoon at the PDC World Darts Championship where everything clicked. In a tournament that has already delivered a series of shocks, the Englishman remained calm and professional, producing a convincing straight-sets win over Argentine history-maker Jesus Salate, to give himself a genuine opportunity to finally move beyond the second round. And Meikle is fully aware of what this moment represents.

“You can’t ask for much more than that,” Meikle said afterwards. “Being on the last day, I’d watched a lot of the tournament and there have been a few upsets. That makes you concentrate even more, because I didn’t want to let him into the game and let the crowd get involved. So yeah, I’m over the moon to get through.”

Meikle barely allowed Jesus Salate into the contest. The numbers told their own story: just one leg conceded and a 53 percent success rate on the doubles. “Yeah, definitely,” he said when asked about confidence. “Minehead last time out was a bit of a disaster. So to win on TV, and I thought it was a fairly solid performance, it obviously gives me confidence moving forward.”

That disappointment was still fresh in his mind. “From the outside it didn’t look great, and it wasn’t great,” Meikle admitted. “But I’d been playing really well before that and since then as well. For me it was just a little bump in the road. I knew I’d come back today and be a lot better.”

This was Meikle’s fourth consecutive opening-round win at the World Championship, yet reaching the post-Christmas stages has so far eluded him, largely because of the draws he has faced.

“The last few years I’ve had tough draws after winning my first-round game,” he explained. “I played Luke Littler last year, Raymond van Barneveld when he got into the top 32 on his comeback year, and Peter Wright the year before when he went on to win it. I probably haven’t had much luck with the draws.”

This time, the path appears more open. In round two he faces Jonny Tata, who also came through in straight sets against former major winner Richie Edhouse. “Yeah, it’s a great chance for me,” Meikle said. “I probably won’t get a better chance. But it’s not going to be an easy game. He’ll be looking at it the same way as well. He’s probably thinking it’s a good chance for him to get through to after Christmas too.”

Meikle also acknowledged that this World Championship feels slightly different because of his ranking position. “I think I’m probably safe for my Tour Card, and I knew I wasn’t defending anything,” he said. “So yeah, it’s a bit of a free hit, and with the prize money going up, I want to win as many as I can to give myself an advantage for the year ahead.”

Still, ambition remains. “I don’t want to be in that position every year where I’m saving my Tour Card at the Worlds. I believe I’m a better player than that. I get frustrated with myself that I’m not doing better, but the game is there. It’s just consistency for me.”

As for what comes next, Meikle is realistic but hopeful. “You never know, next year might be the year.”

The disappointment at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead still formed part of his narrative. A late call-up and minimal preparation made it a messy experience. “From the outside it didn’t look great, and it wasn’t great,” he said. “But I knew what I’d done wrong, and it was obvious. For me it was just a little bump in the road.”

That experience, he believes, helped sharpen his focus now. “I knew I’d come back today and be a lot better.”

Preparation for a relatively unfamiliar opponent like Salate was deliberately simple. “When the draw came out, I’d heard the name but didn’t know much about him,” Meikle said. “I looked on YouTube and I think they had a good win in the World Cup in June. But I didn’t really need to prepare for him. I just knew I had to prepare for myself.”

His approach remains unchanged. “I kept telling myself that if I play well, I should win. You just have to concentrate on yourself, and that’s what I tried to do.”

A notable part of Meikle’s story is that he still combines professional darts with a part-time job as a barber. “I’m a barber, so Christmas week is the busiest week for us,” he said. “The schedule hasn’t been too kind for me.”

He was still working the morning before his match. “I worked yesterday morning and then travelled up,” Meikle explained. “I know it’s hard because people want haircuts a week before Christmas, but this is what I want to do.”

The £25,000 he has already secured with this win therefore carries significant weight. “It’s massive,” he said. “I still work part-time, so £25,000 is a huge amount of money. I’m still young, I’ve got a mortgage, I’ve got a young child, so I’m over the moon.”

Meikle knows that going into the next round he may, for once, carry the label of slight favourite. “I’ll probably be the favourite, and I’ve never had that in the second round,” he admitted. “But I don’t overthink things or put pressure on myself. As long as I prepare right, I believe in what I can do.”

His goal is clear. “The biggest thing in my career is that I’ve always wanted to be at the Worlds after Christmas, and I’ve never done it.”

For now, though, his focus is firmly fixed on the immediate task. “All my concentration is on Tuesday. It’s a great chance for me and it’s probably a great chance for him as well. I’ll prepare for Tuesday and hopefully I can get through and be here after Christmas.”