Preview PDC World Darts Championship Tuesday afternoon: Peter Wright and Showman Scott Williams headline

On Tuesday, December 23, the final eight matches of the second round are on the schedule at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. This afternoon session features a Scot, a Showman and a World Cup champion.

We open the afternoon with one of the debutants who won his opener. Jonny Tata faces the Englishman Ryan Meikle. Then we get a clash between reigning World Cup winner Daryl Gurney and the lightning-quick Callan Rydz. In the third match it’s Jermaine Wattimena’s turn, as he goes up against showman Scott Williams. Finally, we get two-time world champion “Snakebite” Peter Wright. He plays Germany’s Arno Merk, who impressed in his opening match.

We open this session with New Zealander Jonny Tata, who in his second match meets the Englishman Ryan Meikle. Tata impressed in his opener, where he convincingly beat last year’s European Championship winner 3-0. He trailed 2-0 in the first set, but turned it around superbly, taking it 3-2 thanks in part to an 84 checkout. He won the other two sets 3-1, with set two particularly eye-catching. There he threw a 15-darter and two 13-darters to go 2-0 up.

Ryan Meikle, for his part, took care of Argentine debutant Jesus Salate in his first-round tie. Although he faced little resistance from Salate, who seemed overwhelmed by the occasion at this big Worlds, “The Barber” himself still produced a solid display. The Englishman was especially clinical on the doubles. He opened the first set with checkouts of 130, 89, and 96 to take it 3-0. In the second set he also took out 110, and in the third he added a 78 checkout. He lost only one leg in total and finished the match with a checkout percentage of nearly 53%.

Both Tata and Meikle averaged around 89 in their openers. Tata was a touch stronger in scoring, but Meikle was clearly superior on the doubles. If both men hit the same level, this could well be a nail-biter that goes the distance, with Meikle narrowly edging it on the doubles. However, while this is roughly Meikle’s baseline, Tata can normally go a bit higher. Everything points to a tight contest.

Next up is Daryl Gurney against Callan Rydz. It’s a tricky match to predict based on their first outings. Gurney faced Beau Greaves, the match everyone was talking about before the Worlds. That alone piled huge pressure on the tie, which was evident on stage at times. Neither Gurney nor Greaves reached their usual level, making it hard to gauge where the Northern Irishman stands. He did win the blockbuster, albeit with difficulty. He needed a deciding set, in which he produced a 141 checkout at the perfect moment in leg three to break Greaves. He then held throw to seal the match.

Rydz is a curious case. You hear little from him all year, but at the Worlds he always seems to come alive and find his very best form. In the first round he didn’t need that top gear to advance. He averaged just over 88, yet still cruised to a 3-0 win against Hungarian debutant Patrik Kovacs. Rydz won every set 3-1 and was never really troubled. On paper this could be a very tight match, but it could just as easily be one-sided. Much will depend on how both approach the stage. If Gurney has shaken off the pressure of his opener and can play freely, and Rydz hits his usual Worlds level, it could go to the wire. But if the Northern Irishman plays like in round one, and Rydz delivers what we expect from him at the Worlds, it could just as easily be a comfortable 3-0 for “The Riot.”

Then Jermaine Wattimena takes on Scott Williams, which guarantees one thing: something always happens on stage. Wattimena avoided a calamity in his opener. “The Machine Gun” played well below his usual level and therefore found it very tough against Germany’s Dominik Gruellich. Wattimena averaged 87.28, while his opponent managed just over 81. Even so, the Dutchman was in trouble. After scraping the first set 3-2, he lost the next two sets and found himself 2-1 down in sets. He took set four 3-1 to force a decider, and then comfortably won it 3-0 to survive a nervy contest.

Williams, by contrast, did impress in the first round. “Shaggy” averaged close to 100 in his opener against Paolo Nebrida, who also averaged over 95, and won convincingly 3-0 in sets. The Englishman was especially sharp on checkouts under 100. Finishes like 72, 82, 100, 70, and 92 all went in two or three darts, leaving the Filipino little chance to hit back. He lost only two legs in total and posted a checkout rate of over 64%.

Wattimena will therefore need to be much better than in his first round if he wants to push Williams to the limit. It’s well known that Williams plays his best on the big stage, so he can definitely hit this level again. But given the Dutchman’s form in recent months, he can certainly reach it too. If both find top gear, we could see a spectacle with a deciding set and even extra legs. But it takes two to tango, so both Wattimena and Williams will have to show up. If one of them drops off, it could be over quickly.

Finally, we get the two-time world champion Peter Wright against German debutant Arno Merk. Wright was fortunate to meet a Noa-Lynn van Leuven who didn’t play well in his first round. “Snakebite” only managed a modest 83.51 average, yet still won 3-0. With a checkout rate over 56%, it means the scoring phase was particularly below par. That will have to improve in this second round, otherwise the Scot’s tournament will likely end here.

Merk, who played the opening match on the first night on 12/11/2024 and therefore had to wait the longest of anyone, performed very well on his Ally Pally debut. He averaged close to 90 against Kim Huybrechts and was never really in trouble against the Belgian. Now that his debut is out of the way, he might play even freer and lift his level again. And since Wright has been out of form for months and disappointed in his opener as well, Merk could easily spring a surprise and make the third round. For Wright, a defeat could mean he possibly drops out of the top 32 after the Worlds.