Preview Monday evening PDC World Darts Championship: Rock and Rydz battle for the final spot in the last 16 followed by clash between Littler and Cross

The first fifteen players in the last sixteen are confirmed at the PDC World Darts Championship. On Monday evening, the final spot in the round of 16 at the darting spectacle in Alexandra Palace will be decided. But once the line-up for the fourth round is complete, the first part of the next round will start right away.

Josh Rock and Callan Rydz have enjoyed an extended Christmas break, as they are the two players who will battle for the final ticket to the fourth round. Then James Hurrell and Ryan Searle will square off for a place in the quarterfinals of the World Darts Championship. The evening wraps up with a clash between reigning world champion Luke Littler and former world champion Rob Cross.
Follow the 2026 World Darts Championship via our live scores!

The bracket for the last sixteen is almost complete, but one name is still missing from the line-up. Josh Rock and Callan Rydz will decide between them who fills that spot. Rock opened his tournament with a 3-1 win over Gemma Hayter. After that match, ‘Rocky’ admitted he had slightly underestimated his opponent. The Northern Irishman took the first two sets 3-1 and 3-0, but relaxed the reins a bit too much afterward. Hayter then claimed set three 3-1 and even had a brief look at 2-2. In the leg decider of the fourth set Rock struck anyway, sealing the victory. The World Cup champion then produced a fine second match against Joe Comito. The Australian was brushed aside 3-0 in sets. Comito was allowed just two legs, and Rock posted a 101.32 average.

Callan Rydz, by contrast, started his tournament with a 3-0 victory. It wasn’t top-tier from ‘The Riot’ against Patrik Kovacs, but three 3-1 sets did the job against the Hungarian. Against Daryl Gurney, Rydz had to dig deeper, and the Newcastle thrower did just that. Rydz trailed 2-1 in sets to ‘Superchin’, but levelled convincingly by sweeping the fourth set 3-0. He then struck in overtime with a 5-3 score. Afterwards, the two-time Worlds quarterfinalist dedicated the win to his grandfather, who was in critical condition in hospital. In tears, Rydz told the press about it. A day later, the bad news came that his grandfather had passed away. In his message, Rydz said he would try even harder to make his grandad proud.

Three years ago, Rock and Rydz met for the first time, surprisingly enough on the Alexandra Palace stage. Rock won 3-0 in sets on that occasion. They have faced each other twice since, and Rydz walked off the oche as the winner both times.

James Hurrell will surely have busted plenty of sweepstakes over the past few days. After his 3-1 win over Stowe Buntz, the Englishman delivered the first upset by knocking out Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-2 in sets. It didn’t stop there, as after beating the Dutchman he also eliminated world number four Stephen Bunting following a gripping match. Bunting hurt Hurrell several times with 100+ checkouts, but Hurrell kept his composure and struck hard in the deciding set. Moreover, Hurrell has been steadily improving as the tournament progresses. After an 88.78 average in the first round, he followed up with 92.83 and 98.48 in his two most recent matches.

In Ryan Searle, he meets a player also in excellent form. ‘Heavy Metal’ hasn’t dropped a single set all tournament. Searle cruised 3-0 in sets against Chris Landman in the first round, and then made short work of Brendan Dolan (3-0). Next, the 38-year-old Englishman proved too strong for Martin Schindler, who was dismantled 4-0 despite averaging 102.29. That continues Searle’s excellent World Championship record. This is his eighth Worlds appearance, and he has never lost before Christmas. It is now the fourth time Searle has reached the fourth round. In his three previous attempts, however, he failed to make the quarterfinals.

Although Hurrell has been on tour for two years now, he has not yet faced Searle. The two Englishmen now meet for the first time, with a place in the World Championship quarterfinals on the line.

On paper, a fantastic clash to close the night. The reigning world champion against the 2018 world champion. It is up to Rob Cross to prevent Littler from continuing his title defense into the new year in London. So far, no one has laid a glove on Littler, who has breezed through his first three matches. Although Darius Labanauskas offered stern resistance in the first round, the Lithuanian was beaten 3-0 with a 101.54 average. David Davies was then dispatched 3-0 before Littler produced his best World Championship match ever against Mensur Suljovic. The 18-year-old teenage sensation was unfazed by the Austrian’s slow pace and, thanks to a 107.09 average, won 4-0 in sets.

Cross was not pushed to the limit in his first three rounds either. ‘Voltage’ opened his Worlds campaign with a 3-0 victory over Cor Dekker before Ian White nicked a single set. The former world champion then proved too strong for Damon Heta, winning 4-0 in sets, although the Australian certainly had chances to take at least one, if not more, sets. Against Heta, Cross posted his highest average so far at 94.11, numbers unlikely to trouble Littler.

The head-to-head does not read well for Cross either. Of their sixteen previous meetings, Littler won thirteen. ‘The Nuke’ was unbeaten in six straight against Cross, but the 35-year-old Englishman did win their most recent encounter in September 2025 by 6-4.