PREVIEW 2026 PDC World Darts Championship: Luke Littler & Stephen Bunting make post-Christmas return on stacked Saturday night at Ally Pally

The third round at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship picks up steam this Saturday evening. Among the matches in store, we will see the reigning world champion and one of the crowd favourites take to the stage.

We open the evening with a clash between Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson and Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko. After that, we get to see the world number 4. Stephen Bunting faces the Englishman James Hurrell. Finally, the 18-year-old world champion steps on stage to take on Austria’s Mensur Suljovic.

We therefore start the night with a match between Andreas Harrysson and Ricardo Pietreczko. Harrysson faced the colourful Japanese player Motomu Sakai in his second round and had to silence the crowd quickly. He managed it by taking the opening set 3-2 in a deciding leg. He then raced 2-0 up in the second set, and after Sakai pulled a leg back, an 18-darter put him 2-0 up in sets. Set three again went to a fifth and deciding leg, but he did not let the Japanese player back into the match. A 72 checkout sealed it, and he ultimately ran out a relatively comfortable 3-0 winner.

Pietreczko, for his part, had a much tougher time in his second round. The German looked in control and won the first two sets 3-1 to lead Dave Chisnall 2-0 in sets, with Chisnall missing plenty of doubles to that point. Then ‘Pikachu’ stalled, and Chisnall clicked into gear. The Englishman rattled in 180s (he would hit 11 in total) and his doubles started to land. ‘Chizzy’ took sets three and four 3-1 and 3-0 to level at 2-2. In the fifth and deciding set it went to 2-2 in legs, forcing extra time. Chisnall then started missing again, allowing Pietreczko to break for 3-2. He then held throw to finally get over the line.

On paper Pietreczko will be the favorite, but the crowd is likely to side with Harrysson, which could make it trickier for the German. Harrysson has shown strong form too and certainly has a chance to beat him.

Next up is Stephen Buting, who takes on James Hurrell. Bunting faced India’s Nitin Kumar in the second round and enjoyed a straightforward evening. Kumar averaged only 75, meaning ‘The Bullet’ was never troubled. He took the first set comfortably 3-1, and the second even went 3-0 to Bunting. In the third set he checked out 85 and 132 for two 12-darters. After Kumar nicked a leg, he sealed the match with a 15-darter.

James Hurrell, by contrast, caused a shock by beating Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode in round two. Hurrell started poorly, lost the first set 3-1 and was averaging somewhere in the 70s. From set two, though, he caught fire. His scoring improved markedly and he piled in 180s. He completely turned the match around to lead 2-1. Van Duijvenbode still forced a decider by taking set four to make it 2-2, but in the last set Hurrell quickly led 2-0. ‘Aubergenius’ made it 2-1, but missed chances to force extra legs, allowing the Englishman to close it out.

It is unlikely, however, that Hurrell will upset Bunting as well. The world number 4 should normally have few problems with the Englishman, though he certainly will not underestimate Hurrell.

Finally we see the world champion take to the stage. The 18-year-old faces Austria’s Mensur Suljovic. Littler met the Welshman David Davies in round two and, despite not being at his best, still cruised 3-0. Davies was better than Littler in the first set and really should have led 1-0, but multiple missed doubles gifted the set to ‘The Nuke’. Davies kept pace in set two as well but faltered at key moments, so that set also went 3-1 to Littler. The third set told the same story. Davies missed doubles, enabling Littler to take it 3-1 and reach the third round.

Suljovic played a contentious match against Joe Cullen. Cullen swept the first set 3-0, but the Austrian hit back, took the second 3-1 and levelled the contest. From set three, the atmosphere on stage soured. Suljovic trailed 2-0 in the third set but turned it around to steal it 3-2. He celebrated at length after each winning leg, to Cullen’s annoyance. The fourth set again went to a decider, with Suljovic still exuberant after every leg. In the last leg Cullen missed chances to force a deciding set, and Suljovic settled it on double 10. There was some frostiness after the match, but in the end Suljovic had the final big celebration.

The question is whether Suljovic will use similar mind games against Littler, and whether the 18-year-old can be rattled by them. Normally the world champion should be superior on pure scoring, but Suljovic’s pace and possible antics could make it tighter than expected.