Nathan Aspinall into last 16 at Players Championship 1, Gerwyn Price abandon sees Brendan Dolan advance with bye
PDC
Nathan Aspinall has joined the last sixteen of Players Championship 1 in Wigan thanks to victory in a last leg decider against Nathan Rafferty. Gerwyn Price won't be joining him however, after abandoning mid-match against Brendan Dolan.
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Price caused a surprise by giving up his match at a 2-4 deficit against Dolan. 'The Iceman' was not pleased with what he considered to be poor conditions at the playing venue, he later stated on Instagram.
Gian van Veen recorded a fine victory over Ross Smith, the 2022 European Championship winner. The Dutchman led 4-3, but was trailing 5-4 two legs later. Van Veen then equalized with a 15-darter, before 'GVV The Giant' decided the match with a 12-darter.
Mike de Decker advanced to the last sixteen after a 6-2 win over Ian White. Kim Huybrechts defeated Berry van Peer 6-3 to qualify for the fourth round.
Luke Littler qualified for the next round after a comfortable 6-1 victory over Michele Turetta. 'The Nuke' provided a stylish ending in this match with a nine darter.
Results Players Championship 1
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Last 32
Luke Littler 6 | 1 Michele Turetta
Cameron Menzies 6 | 5 Leighton Bennett
Jamie Hughes 6 | 5 Mensur Suljovic
James Hurrell 6 | 2 Mervyn King
Alan Soutar 6 | 2 Chris Dobey
Lee Evans 6 | 4 Andrew Gilding
Nick Kenny 6 | 2 Graham Usher
Mickey Mansell 6 | 5 Daryl Gurney
Mike De Decker 6 | 2 Ian White
Ryan Searle 6 | 1 Dom Taylor
Jose De Sousa 6 | 5 Andy Baetens
Nathan Aspinall 6 | 5 Nathan Rafferty
Brendan Dolan BYE | - Gerwyn Price
Ricardo Pietreczko 6 | 5 Adam Smith-Neale
Kim Huybrechts 6 | 3 Berry van Peer
Gian van Veen 6 | 5 Ross Smith
Last 16
Luke Littler - | - Cameron Menzies
Jamie Hughes - | - James Hurrell
Alan Soutar - | - Lee Evans
Nick Kenny - | - Mickey Mansell
Mike De Decker - | - Ryan Searle
Jose De Sousa - | - Nathan Aspinall
Brendan Dolan - | - Ricardo Pietreczko
Kim Huybrechts - | - Gian van Veen
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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- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026
- Joking aside, it is the second most watched sport on sky (more than golf, F1 etc) behind football only, and in participation is second to only football and swimming. It doesn't get the attention or sponsorship of "bigger" sports because it's not as sexy, but it's right up there.BandB13-10-2026
- i love darts but you can't seriously believe it's the second most popular sport in the uk. even top five is pushing it. it may be the fastest growing, though.colt13-10-2026
- I'm a big Clayton fan, but he's got this completely wrong. Qualification criteria exists for a reason - so just as failing to make the top 32/64 for the Euro championships/PT Finals means you miss out, so does not lifting a title for this one.26sForFun12-10-2026
- The players who deliberately slow the game down are usually boring and win very little in the way of silverware. Horrible to watch.MrYnyslas197112-10-2026
- [“The Gentle” then used a sweeping and questionable phrase...] You anglocucks are hilariously finished in every sense of the word.Critical99911-10-2026
- I love Jonny but I disagree. The Grand Slam was always supposed to be "champion of champions" type competition. If the top 16 are guaranteed participation in everything there will be so much less jeopardy involved in qualifying and each major tournament will lose its unique flavour which the PDC has worked hard trying to develop. I enjoy following the qualification races towards the end of the year, and while consistency should have its rewards, the truth is Jonny hasn't reached a major final all year or won a single event on the Pro Tour. Being consistent is one thing, but that alone should have consequences as the sport's elite should not be prepared to accept consistently strong performances, their foremost motivation should be to win and this should be what separates them from the rest, not the consistency of their performances. Jonny is expecting that losing should be enough; it shouldn't be, at least not as far as the Grand Slam is concerned.Deduce635811-10-2026
- Well being honest,it doesn't matter what level you play at, there's always someone who slows it down to suit themselves,and extra swig of water, replacing flights, asking the ref what the score is. It happens wherever. I'm not saying it's professional,but I'm sure we've all seen it beforerick6711-10-2026
- Agree completely. Not sure how a ranking event can have a criteria not based on rankings. And he right on popularity. In the UK second only to football.BandB11-10-2026
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