World Matchplay Wednesday evening Round-up | Price and Wade prevail, Van Veen edges Nijman in thriller as Menzies withdraws through illness

We have a completed quarter-final lineup at the World Matchplay. The final four names have cemented their names into the next round with some brilliant performances to treat the Winter Gardens crowd.

However, proceedings began with a hugely concerning incident when Cameron Menzies withdrew on medical grounds four legs into his contest against Ross Smith. It was a bright start by both players. An 11-dart break by Smith was nullified immediately by the Scot who got level before a 75 checkout in two propelled him ahead.

Then Menzies started to suddenly feel unwell. He was helped off the stage by Smith and one of the referees and would go on to get medical treatment. ‘Smudger’ advanced into the quarter-finals but not in the way he would have wanted.

Away from that, there was an abundance of quality on stage. Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman played out a thriller, Gerwyn Price outlined his title chances and James Wade battles through as we edge towards the business end of the Matchplay.

The darts soon started up again with a hugely intriguing all-Dutch tie between Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman talked up as the tie of the night. It delivered and then some. A marathon match went the way of the higher ranked van Veen who downed his fellow countryman 14-12.

Nijman has won eight PDC titles this year and is in a rich vein of form, even being touted for the title in Blackpool. He began with a 15-dart hold, but van Veen had other ideas. A show-stopping 135 checkout on the bull put him 2-1 ahead with a break of throw. He followed that with a 70 checkout in two before securing a double break ahead of the first interval.

The momentum instantly flipped as Nijman got himself back into the match with a sublime 116 checkout. That was one of the break backs as van Veen had chances to get his prior advantage back, missing the bull on a couple of occasions as Nijman remained clinical, specifically on double 16. He seemed to have blown a chance to break and get level at 5-5 when he went into the five segment on 104. Van Veen also had trouble in that area of the board, going inside when aiming for double five. The last dart in hand on double 18 was pinned and Nijman was level at 5-5.

The pause did the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship finalist a lot of good. He began with an 11-dart break before backing that up with another commanding hold. Nijman kept the pressure on by keeping the trend of holds going, but the same could be said for van Veen.

Constantly both players were pinning doubles the first time of asking. A hugely pivotal one was when van Veen found the middle of the double eight bed to move two away. South of that, he missed double eight to sneak one from glory as Nijman kept his hopes alive on double two. He then clinically took out 66 in two in a hugely pressured situation to level at 9-9. He then strode clear with time on his side on tops. For the first time since the opening leg, he was ahead.

Van Veen quickly forced the tie to go on before taking out an incredible 148 checkout while Nijman was stranded on 64 for the match. 107 is taken out on double 18, which had been really handy, as Nijman upped the ante but the pressure did not get to van Veen. A 64 checkout was followed by a definitive blow in the form of a break of throw. He found double 16 after Nijman blew a chance on the bull and is into consecutive Matchplay quarter-finals while showcasing his title aspirations.

After a sketchy first round tie, Gerwyn Price produced a much better performance. He won nine of the last 11 legs in a dominant spell to fend off Rob Cross 11-5 in a clinical display.

The match begun with a number of breaks, although four missed darts by Cross in the first leg was an opportunity missed. He broke back on double 18 but this was dwarfed by a huge roar from Price moments later when the 161 was taken out. He was firing in these early stages, but mostly against the throw. Cross fired back with a 94 outshot before ending up in the madhouse as we finally saw a hold of throw.

The Welshman started the second session the better. He held throw for the first time before watching on as Cross missed the bull for a 132. More spurned efforts allowed Price to break on double 10 and this time he was able to break back. Setting up from the 170 was an unpopular decision but a smart one.

He left it again in the next leg, and this time satisfied the crowd’s intention by going for it, missing in the process enroute to securing a double break. He swept up all the legs in that session and gave Cross a lot to ponder on.

It was six on the spin for Price before ‘Voltage’ finally found a bit of momentum, ticking off two legs to move 8-5 behind. The 2022 finalist got back on track after Cross missed at tops to break. He did not look back from here. An 11-dart break put him one from the match, and on throw he made no mistake as he set up a quarter-final contest against Smith.

2007 champion James Wade is in a third consecutive quarter-final in a venue he adores. Ryan Searle did not produce his best display, and in turn was defeated 11-8 as Wade showed his class at the right times.

Wade was the one in control at the start of the match. Legs In 15 and 14 darts put him 2-0 ahead before chances were squandered to back up that break as Searle got back on throw. ‘Heavy Metal’ was not finding his groove early on in the tie with Wade regaining his advantage. However, again Searle closed back to one leg.

The second session was again a closely fought affair. Both players found their range on the outer ring, but it was dominant on throw. Searle had found his range on tops and made it 5-5 with a 72 outshot, but both players left the oche not completely satisfied.

Two legs later, ‘The Machine’ had daylight. He broke the throw with an eye-catching 121 checkout on the bull to go 7-5 to the good. Searle continued to struggle to find any form as Wade trudged further ahead.

It would not be definitive as many feared as Searle found another spell, winning the next two legs and clambering himself back into the tie. Any hopes of a comeback were severely dented in the next leg as a 143 checkout by Wade asserted his dominance. A 13-dart hold put him one away, and two legs later he confirmed his spot in a 14th quarter-final at the Winter Gardens. Averaging just below a ton, he will hope to keep up that level against van Veen on Friday.