Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross aim to recapture former World Matchplay glories in latest players to watch for Blackpool title tilt

The World Matchplay kicks off today and we have the latest players to watch in multiple friends who are vying for glory.

Nathan Aspinall and Joe Cullen are very close and play each other. While they are also close with Chris Dobey. They carry the candle as some of the leading English hopes.

But also Rob Cross who like Aspinall has won this title before so he knows how to get the job done in Blackpool. Both aiming to recapture their former glories and face tough routes to do so. How do their chances stack up?

The 2023 World Matchplay champion walks into an arena he once conquered, currently not ready for the tournament. Having his best year in the PDC to date in 2023, this three-year gap from his peak seems to have hit Aspinall harder than most. Snubbed from a Premier League pick and rejected from recent World Series call-ups despite several big names pulling out, including Littler, his own words suggest a player struggling to find motivation.

Not throwing darts or practising and playing only 48 matches so far in 2026, the Stockport thrower's match sharpness is low. “I’ve literally thrown darts probably four matches in seven weeks. I have no idea how I’m going to play” he told Online Darts, where his cameo at Hyde Park was probably the best practice he’s done in months. Then, coming into the second biggest tournament of the year and a recent dip in averages with himself not knowing how he might play, the 33-year-old is a complete uncertainty. A 94.56 average in the last six months and a strong checkout percentage of 43.59% suggest that he is going to need solid doubles to stand a chance against Cullen. “There’s a lot more stuff going on in my life than darts”, he told Online Darts, describing his priorities as “do the best in the matchplay, get married and go on my honeymoon”. Darts is secondary for Aspinall right now, and a decline in 180s per leg to just a 21% chance per leg in the last 3 months means the Winter Gardens crowd would have seen better versions of Aspinall.

From the 49 games he has played, Aspinall’s 2026 has actually been quite positive. Winning a European tour and averaging 106.40 in the semi-finals in Munich, there’s every reason to see Aspinall’s harsh words about himself as a disservice to his year. On the World Series invite to the Middle East, Aspinall beat Humphries 6-3, averaging 104.43, showing that the ceiling exists. Players Championship One finalist and two European Tour quarter-finals with a 108.65 dotted along the way; quality is still there, just not maintained. An average of 81.58 and 86.82 in Players Championship describes the Aspinall paradox. Not playing darts produces inconsistencies, and this volatility seems very few and far between. The Matchplay could get these two versions: 100+ average or below 90 average. Cullen will be hoping for the latter.

In 2025, Aspinall walked in as the 8th seed. He’s the 16th seed this year. Nijman beat him comfortably last year, averaging 101.72 to drive past Aspinall, who averaged a respectable 98.88. This wasn’t a bad performance, just a top-quality opponent and losing £200,000 on his rankings and still coming into 2026 as the 16th seed shows determination and grit that no other player holds in darts. In his title-winning 2023 season, he was a Premier League participant going into Blackpool with full preparation and still averaged 96.21 in the final and won.

Aspinall didn’t average above 100 in this campaign, and from last year's champion Littler averaging 111 in the final, that level won't be enough. Darts has changed meaning, competing without any preparation, and his current form and words about himself suggest a large run seems unlikely. Fluke performances can happen, but over a whole week, they can’t come in every match he plays. Just one round won in his last two appearances; to predict any different would happen this year after coming into last year's Matchplay with greater expectations and averages wouldn’t be suggested.

Having just come off a stag do with Cullen, the draw selected two friends to battle at the oche in quite an even matchup. On his way to the title, Aspinall beat Cullen 17-9, with Cullen not even winning enough legs to win a first-round tie. Not meeting in over two years, this fresh matchup is mixed with uncertainty. Cullen’s 2026 has been filled with a mixed resurgence that suggests there are positive signs. Cullen is currently hitting his first dart in the T20 over 9% more than Aspinall, and with stronger checkouts in favour of the Mancunian, the all-English affair seems a great scorer vs finisher game. With a psychological layer to the match that is already analytically uncertain, finding a winner from this game proves tricky.

As mentioned, 2026 Cullen has been a fresh renaissance on the back of the last two years. Finally climbing the rankings rather than falling in them, his win percentage currently sits 5% higher than last year's. Starting 2026 with a 94.67 average, Cullen hasn’t played this well for years, and his game is in better shape going into the Matchplay compared to last year's first-round dumping to the hands of eventual finalist James Wade.

With a strong scoring average of 103.47 and first three above 101, Cullen is hitting a maximum visit in 31% of legs and is starting to outscore his opponent, which has been a quality he’s lost over time. His performances back this up, reaching the finals of Players Championship 8 and the quarter-finals of Players Championship 15. For a player of Cullen’s standard, he might want more from how he’s been playing, and the Matchplay offers this opportunity to turn his comeback into something tangible. A strong double eight accuracy of 50% and sixteens of 45.16%; his doubles aren’t a problem, just not a match-winning quality. Goals are different to Aspinall. He wishes to replicate 2023, whilst a win or two for Cullen would be a positive result.

Cullen hasn’t been beating players who he’ll face in the Matchplay. Although a Players Championship finalist and semi-finalist, he has been consistently losing to players such as Nijman, Bunting and Dobey whilst beating lower-ranked players such as Wenig and Dolan on the way to these runs. No fault of his own, of course; it just raises the question if the comeback is Matchplay ready, or just tour adequate?

A Players Championship final is solid but modest compared to Aspinall's title-winning pedigree at Blackpool. He’s won a European Tour whilst admitting darts is secondary. He must compare himself to Cullen in 2025 going into the Matchplay, who was volatile and averaging just 90.33. Form trajectory seems to be good for his standards, but against the World Number 16 and former winner, this progress might not be enough.

James Wade's strong performance in 2025 made Cullen's eight legs look more competitive than the match actually was. Averaging 92.68 in a tight game inflated what was quite a poor performance, and something he can’t afford this year. Reaching the semi-finals in 2023, Cullen was a different player then. Whether he can replicate this, however, is not out of the question. A tournament-high average of 100.67 in this 2023 run, his six ton-plus averages this year alone wouldn’t rule a performance at a similar level of 2023 out.

Whether he’d receive the same results is a different question. In 2025, Cullen walked in with poor form and losing first-round ties on the floor, and even Owen Bates weeks before. In 2026, he is inside the European Championship qualification stages and with more consistent form, a few wins could be likely. Reaching the quarter-finals just twice, with 2018 being his first appearance before 2023, Cullen knows what it takes on the stage. He also knows what it takes to win a game and then go out in the next round, achieving this feat four times, meaning although Aspinall could be defeated, another win could be out of the picture for the Rockstar. The Matchplay is an opportunity for the Rockstar to prove his comeback in front of darts fans; whether he can get one over his mate is another question.

Dobey always seems like an underdog going into every major. The 2023 Masters Champion has always got the game going into the tournament, with 2025 an overly uneventful year, ignoring the World Championships, earning £377,500 over the year, proving this silent assassin case. Not competing in the Premier League in 2026, Dobey has had time to work on his game, and he’s improved.

Averaging 97.92 in the last three months compared to 96.52 last year after the Premier League finished, and a 111.54 first three, he holds the highest first three dart average of any player in the world. This matches the Dobey blueprint: strong score, weak finisher.

The Tyne thrower has a checkout percentage of 40.13%, recovering after a dip below 37%, but what is most worrying is his deciding leg averages.

Dropping below 92.29, Dobey’s control with pressure continues to be the weakest part of his game and after the 2025 Grand Slam of darts disaster of missing 11 match darts, Dobey wobbles.

His scoring is hard to ignore. Hitting a maximum visit in 41% of legs is genuinely elite, and he will outscore any opponent he faces, giving him the chances to miss the darts at double.

2026 has been very positive, winning two Players Championship events, most staggeringly Players Championship 9, beating Hood in the final with a 105.28 average and a 109.74 along the way against Griffin; the floor title king of the floor remains. Floor titles won’t win you Matchplays, and in low-pressure scenarios like the floor in context to the World Matchplay, the extent of how these victories and high averages would contribute to a deep run doesn’t seem strong.

Last year, Hollywood lost to Clayton 7-10 and averaged 93.78 despite producing two 110+ averages, averaging 111.33 and 110.44 with a 108.72 average as well. As well as winning two Players Championship events in 2025, floor form doesn’t seem to translate for Dobey. He has a ceiling, but never seems to reach it on stage across a whole weekend.

His Matchplay history suggests this as well. With four first-round exits since his debut in 2019, Dobey has won just three matches in six years. With many big averages on tour without a 100+ average on the Winter Gardens stage, his performances don’t seem to correlate between his floor events.

However, with a 2023 quarter-final, this can be explained by his 2023 Masters title, and after 2025’s inconsistent form, a first-round exit followed. 2026 seems similar to 2025 but in a more consistent form, suggesting a deep run is possible but not inevitable. The Quarter-final is the benchmark, and with only needing two wins, Dobey could fancy himself.

Van Duijvenbode is Dobey’s opponent in the first round. The aubergenius has suffered a slight decline in his average after seemingly overcoming a shoulder injury, dropping to 95.72. A powerful scorer similar to Dobey, this game won’t have the best doubling record of the tournament.

Having a checkout percentage of 37.5%, Dobey has the upper hand in terms of finishing, which could prove so important. Both only reaching the Quarter-finals as their best result, it seems tight on paper. Looking deeper, Van Duijvenbode’s first three is nearly 8 points lower, meaning that Dobey could outscore the power scorer. The gap between his most recent form and Dobey's is significant enough that the result follows the statistics rather than the upset.

After looking like the 2019 Champion wasn’t going to qualify, a strong last three months saw Cross enter with relative ease, ending up £33,000 safe of qualification. With a positive Alexandra Palace display after a worrying end to 2025, Cross has followed up on his World Championship form and, in the last three months, his average sits at 97.26. The 2024 quarter-finalist hasn’t seen himself since the 2024 Premier League disappointment, not getting strong performances maintained and winning just four titles in this two-year gap.

Ending a one-year drought at the Players Championship 22, Cross has really lifted his game back to Premier League standard. A checkout percentage of 44.16% and a first nine of 104.65 suggest both finishing and scoring are sound; a huge positive after a dip of the first nine into 101 and a checkout percentage into the high 30s. As always, his T18 hitting has been elite, sitting at a 44.59% average and returning to his 2024 numbers. After 2025’s disappointment, 2026 looks like a different year.

Winning a month before the Matchplay was so important. Confidence is important for any player, but for Cross, who has had some of the toughest decisions of the board, it gave him that winning feeling back. Still not the finished article, reaching European Tour finals and floor semi- finals is positive, as 2025 didn’t even offer a quarter-final on the European Tour.

Arguably, 2025 could have helped. Walking into the tournament as an unseeded player, he’s been playing top 16 darts. Cross has produced the 7th highest average in the last three months, and with titles, his 2025 can be forgotten. Cross is back to 2024 standards, and walking into the 2024 Matchplay, he’d won a European tour and reached the quarter-final. What’s saying he can’t do that this year?

11 wins to 9 losses in Blackpool, Cross has a very high lifetime average of 98.23 at the World Matchplay and very fond memories. Champion in 2019 and quarter-finalist in 2024 suggests a seaside savage, averaging a high of 106.99 and already knowing how it is to pick up the trophy after a week of hard graft on PDC’s hottest and most contentious stage.

Yet, four first-round exits and one last sixteen contrast, and the explanations of these results are clear. Going into all five of the disappointments in mixed form, Cross’s form seems to directly translate to his Matchplay results. Therefore, with a positive 2026, a first-round exit doesn’t seem an appropriate option.

Danny Noppert proves a tricky task. In the opinion of many, snubbed from a Premier League of Darts spot to Bunting, and his form hasn’t seemed to respond well to this. With a 2025 average of 94.95, Noppert’s last three months saw him drop to 93.99. This tie now involves on form vs off form, exactly what the Matchplay draw was intended to do.

Two years of form against one year, Rob Cross is the beneficiary, and with Noppert’s declining stats of 101.97 first-nine average and 37.56% on his doubles, Noppert’s fading.

We can’t forget what Noppert was, however. 2025 Grand Slam, European Championship, Masters and World Grand Prix semi-finalist as well as 2022 Matchplay semi-finalist; Noppert’s 2025 triumphs are anything Cross has done in the past five years. Cross will hope Noppert’s 2026 turns up; Noppert will hope Cross’s 2025 does. We’ll hope their best form turns up.