Preview 2026 PDC World Darts Championship: Josh Rock faces Gemma Hayter with more history set to be made on Friday afternoon with first Argentinian ever at Ally Pally

Another historic afternoon at Alexandra Palace, as for the first time an Argentinian player will take to the stage at the PDC World Darts Championship. In addition, a Dutchman and a dark horse for the title are also in action during Friday’s afternoon session.

Dutch fans will need an early start, with Kevin Doets on first in the afternoon. He faces Matthew Dennant. Then it’s time for Jesús Sálate, making his Ally Pally debut. He meets Ryan Meikle in the first round. Mickey Mansell is set for a showdown with Leonard Gates, before Josh Rock and Gemma Hayter close out the session.

Kevin Doets enjoyed a superb world championship last year. After his 3-1 win over Noa-Lynn van Leuven, he then managed to topple Michael Smith. In a thriller he saw off the former world champion (3-2). A 4-3 victory over Krzysztof Ratajski made his tournament even better, before the Dutchman narrowly lost 4-3 to Chris Dobey in the last 16. Doets has been holding steady around 40th in the world rankings for some time. On the floor ‘Hawk Eye’ performed well with no fewer than seven quarterfinals and a semifinal. However, it wasn’t enough to qualify for majors like the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, the kind of events where Doets can really climb the PDC Order of Merit.

While this is Doets’ third World Championship appearance, his opponent Matthew Dennant is making his Alexandra Palace debut, and that in the ninth year he has held a PDC Tour Card. There were more milestones for the Englishman in 2025, as he reached a Euro Tour final day for the first time, and also made his first Players Championship quarterfinal. In recent years Dennant has also featured regularly at the UK Open, but at this major he has never gone beyond the last 64.

Although Doets and Dennant have been on the PDC circuit concurrently for quite a few years, this will be the first time they cross paths.

Jesus Salate has already made history, as the first Argentinian ever to play at the World Darts Championship. Salate earned his spot by winning the ranking on the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour. This circuit staged six events in 2025, and Salate won four of them. He kept rival Rashad Sweeting behind him on the leaderboard. Earlier this year we also saw Salate at the World Cup of Darts, where he teamed up with compatriot Víctor Guillín. To everyone’s surprise, the Argentinians made it out of the group after wins over New Zealand and Finland, before Australia proved too strong in the last 16. In that tournament, Salate certainly showed he can throw a tidy dart.

With Ryan Meikle as an opponent, Salate has not drawn badly either, although Meikle’s very slow throw makes him a tricky customer for anyone. Nevertheless, ‘The Barber’ is not regarded as a high flyer on the circuit. Meikle ultimately qualified for the Worlds as number 29 on the Pro Tour ranking. For the 29-year-old Englishman, this is already his sixth World Championship appearance. He exited in the first round in his first two attempts, but at the 2022, 2023 and 2025 editions he reached the second round. Last year he nicked a set off Littler, but Meikle eventually lost 3-1 to the eventual world champion.

A milestone for Mickey Mansell, as this is the tenth time he has qualified for the World Darts Championship. After failing to win a match in his first five appearances, he has come through the opening round in each of the last four editions. Last year the ‘Clonoe Cyclone’ even came close to his first spot in the last 32, but went down in a thriller to Jonny Clayton. There have been years when Mansell scraped into the field, but this time it was plain sailing for the Northern Irishman. He amassed a total of £43,250 in prize money, good for eighth on the Pro Tour list. Mansell reached the main draw at five Euro Tour events, and even made the last 16 at the Dutch Darts Championship. On the floor Mansell reached two quarterfinals.

Leonard Gates can prepare for his third appearance in North London. “The Soulger” won the CDC Continental Cup in North America, securing his spot. He also did well on the CDC Tour, the circuit for North American players, with two tournament wins. What should boost Gates’ confidence is that he has never lost a first-round match at Ally Pally. At the 2023 edition he beat Geert Nentjes 3-1 in the opening round before losing 3-1 to Stephen Bunting. Last year, Gates was too strong for Cameron Menzies in the first round (3-1). He then bowed out against Nathan Aspinall (3-1).

The year 2024 was the season in which Josh Rock firmly established himself among the world’s elite. The highlight was his World Cup of Darts triumph alongside compatriot Daryl Gurney, but Rock also impressed individually. “Rocky” reached the semi-finals at the UK Open and the World Matchplay, made two Euro Tour finals, and won a title on the floor. These results have lifted him to world number eleven, and he is being tipped for the Premier League Darts in 2026. Rock also knows, however, that he cannot afford to have a poor World Championship.

Against Gemma Hayter he faces one of the five women competing at the World Darts Championship. The Englishwoman finished fifth on the Women’s Series Order of Merit. That was enough for a Worlds berth because Beau Greaves claimed her place via the Development Tour and Lisa Ashton secured a ticket through her Women’s World Matchplay title. Hayter reached three finals on the Women’s Series in 2025, but she was unable to convert any of them into a title.