Preview Saturday afternoon at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship: Gary Anderson kicks off quest for third world title

This Saturday afternoon we’ll see a two-time world champion take to the oche at the 2026 World Darts Championship. Gary Anderson begins his pursuit of a potential third world title.

This afternoon session opens with Belgian Mario Vandenbogaerde against Welshman David Davies. Next up are ‘Goldfinger’ Andrew Gilding and major prospect Cam Crabtree. Then Luke Woodhouse and Boris Krcmar face off for a spot in the second round. Finally, ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Gary Anderson appears at the oche. He meets Englishman Adam Hunt.

Vandenbogaerde sits 66th on the PDC Order of Merit heading into the World Championship. The Belgian could use a strong run at Ally Pally to force his way back into the top 64. ‘Super Mario’ has had a solid year, including a final at Players Championship 28. The European Tour was less smooth for Vandenbogaerde. He played only four events, reaching the last 16 once.

Davies was mainly active on the Challenge Tour and at the MODUS Super Series this year. He finished 20th on the Challenge Tour, but did win one event to claim his first PDC title. Not long after, the Welshman also captured the Champion of Champions title, a tournament previously won by compatriots such as Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton. He qualified by winning the PDC UK & Ireland Tour Card Holders & Amateur World Championship Qualifier, beating WDF world champion Shane McGuirk in the final.

While Vandenbogaerde may have more experience on paper and is therefore a slight favorite, a Davies upset cannot be ruled out.

This is one to watch. Gilding is always a distinctive figure with his walk to the oche and thumbs-up after a 180, but his opponent is someone to take very seriously this tournament. ‘Goldfinger’ has had a mixed year. He reached the quarterfinals at the World Matchplay and recently made the last 16 at the Players Championship Finals, but exited early often enough at the big TV events. The European Tour was underwhelming too. He reached the final at the sixth event, but lost 8-0 without a look-in. Across 11 other events, he only twice made the last 16.

Crabtree is one of the talents to monitor in the coming years. The 22-year-old Englishman seems unfazed by the big stage and is not shy about stepping on big names’ toes. At the recent Players Championship Finals he beat Mike De Decker, then lost by a deciding leg to Chris Dobey. He also impressed at the Grand Slam by convincingly defeating Jonny Clayton 5-1. But he chiefly made waves this year on the Development Tour. He won five events and finished number 1 on the rankings, ahead of Beau Greaves.

Gilding may be the established name with more big-stage experience, but ‘Goldfinger’ is not in sparkling form. Add that Crabtree has already shown he can play with freedom under the lights, and you have all the ingredients for a cracking first-round tie, with the youngster a narrow favorite in our book. The H2H offers little guidance, as they have met only twice and shared one win each.

Another first-round match circled in red. Luke Woodhouse has had an excellent year, which may be why he will have winced at the draw. Boris Krcmar is certainly not an easy opening opponent. Woodhouse came close to his first PDC title this year. He reached a final once on both the European Tour and the Players Championship circuit, but lost on both occasions. He also performed well at the majors. He reached the last 16 at both the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Grand Prix, and made the last 32 at the World Matchplay and the World Series of Darts Finals.

We’ve heard and seen less of Krcmar lately. Understandably so, as the Croatian lost his Tour Card at the start of 2025 and therefore did not play the floor events. He did compete in three Euro Tours, reaching the last 32 twice and the last 16 once. The Croatian had already qualified for the WDF World Championship at Lakeside through a qualifier, but then made one final attempt to reach the PDC Worlds. Successfully so, as he beat Tomislav Rosandic 7-6 in the final of the Southeast Europe Qualifier. That forced a choice between the PDC Worlds and the WDF Worlds, and he opted for the former.

Although Krcmar is a dangerous opponent and certainly capable of an upset, Woodhouse looks the favorite given the year he has had. “Woody” will head to Ally Pally with confidence and has a chance to go deep in this tournament, provided he first gets past the Croatian.

Finally, we see two-time world champion Gary Anderson take to the stage. It’s always a wait-and-see with how the Scot will perform. The talent is undeniable, and on his day the 54-year-old can still blow any opponent off the board. But unfortunately for darts fans, there are also plenty of days when things don’t quite click for Anderson. Even so, the “Flying Scotman” has had a fine year. He won both a Euro Tour event and a Players Championship event this season. It was only at the bigger TV tournaments where it disappointed a bit. First-round exit at the Masters, first-round exit at the UK Open, second-round exit at the World Matchplay, and he didn’t make it out of the group stage at the Grand Slam of Darts. Only at the World Grand Prix did he manage to reach the quarterfinals. And despite that, he will always be among the outsiders for the World Championship title.

In his opening round he faces Englishman Adam Hunt. We actually saw little of him this year outside the Players Championship events, and there he failed to convince. “The Hunter” did, however, take his last chance at the World Championship Tour Card Holder Qualifier and surprisingly claimed one of the final five Worlds tickets by defeating Poland’s Tytys Kanik in the decisive match. Still, he is very unlikely to match Gary Anderson’s level, provided “The Flying Scotsman” hits his best form. The pair have met seven times before, and in those encounters Anderson was usually the stronger. The Scot won five of the seven matches.