Preview Sunday afternoon 2026 PDC World Darts Championship: Cullen-Brooks headlines session with three debutants in action

On Sunday afternoon, the darting action continues at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. This session sees Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks and features three debutants making their first appearance at Alexandra Palace, plus a former major champion.

The session opens with the surprise 2024 European Champion. He faces New Zealand debutant Jonny Tata. Next up are two more debutants as Dom Taylor and Oskar Lukasiak square off. In the third match, Dutchman Richard Veenstra steps onto the stage to face India’s Nitin Kumar. Finally, we are treated to “Rockstar” Joe Cullen against Bradley Brooks.

The opening match pits former European Champion Ritchie Edhouse against New Zealander Jonny Tata. Last year, Edhouse stunned friend and foe by winning his first major PDC title out of nowhere at the European Championship. “Madhouse” beat big names such as Gian van Veen, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, and Luke Woodhouse en route to the final, where he defeated Jermaine Wattimena. This year has been far less productive for the Englishman. He failed to impress on both the European Tour and the floor events. And at the two majors he played (the UK Open and the Players Championship Finals), he was knocked out after the first round.

Jonny Tata could therefore be a dangerous opponent for Edhouse. The Kiwi qualified as the winner of the DPNZ Pro Tour in New Zealand. He won no fewer than five events there, finishing first on the ranking to secure a World Championship ticket. He also featured at the World Series of Darts Finals in September, narrowly losing his opening match 6-4 to Ross Smith. But “JT” has shown his level this year, and given Edhouse’s current form, he might even be the favorite in this matchup.

Two debutants meet on the big stage at Alexandra Palace. Dom Taylor and Oskar Lukasiak face each other in the first round of the World Darts Championship, with the former particularly noteworthy. Taylor tested positive in a doping test at the end of 2024 and was suspended, just as he was emerging as a promising talent. Fortunately for him, the matter was resolved and he was allowed to return to the Pro Tour early in 2025. He mainly featured on the floor circuit this year, reaching two semifinals. Outside of those events, however, we saw little of him over the past year.

His opponent Lukasiak was primarily active on the PDC Nordic Baltic Tour. He also played the majority of the Players Championship events, where he bowed out after one or two matches at most tournaments. He qualified via the Nordic Baltic Tour. He won one event there and finished third on the Order of Merit. The top two on the ranking qualified for the Worlds. Number 2 Teemu Harju, however, won the PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship, which also granted a World Championship berth. As a result, his Order of Merit ticket passed down to number three, Oskar Lukasiak.

Richard Veenstra will have looked upon the draw with satisfaction. Luck didn’t favor the Dutchman last year. He then met Filipino Alexis Toylo, who became known for his unusual and very slow throwing style. With Veenstra’s quick tempo, he later called it “the worst possible draw.” Now he meets India’s Nitin Kumar. Veenstra is currently ranked 48th in the world and, on paper, is expected to win this match and advance to the second round. At the Players Championship events this year, he reached three quarterfinals, and then made the last 32 at the Players Championship Finals.

For Kumar, this will be his fifth World Championship appearance, but he has yet to win a match at Alexandra Palace. The Indian thrower qualified via the IDC Indian Qualifier. Across three events there, he reached two finals and won one. On paper, however, the odds of him earning his first Ally Pally win this year seem slim. With his stage experience, Veenstra should normally be a step too far for “The Royal Bengal” and is therefore the favorite to reach the next round.

The evening concludes with a clash between Joe Cullen and Bradley Brooks, a matchup that could produce fireworks. Both players love to keep the pace, and if they hit top gear it could be spectacular. However, Cullen is not in the finest form of his career, and Brooks can be inconsistent as well.

‘Rockstar’ has a kind of love-hate relationship with Ally Pally. At times he seems to play his best matches there, but he has also suffered his most painful defeats. In 2020 he lost 4-3 to Van Gerwen after leading 3-1. Three years later it slipped away again, this time against Luke Humphries. At 3-3 in sets he went 2-0 up and looked set to pull off a shock. But a wagonload of missed doubles meant he ultimately came up short again in a sudden-death leg. And last year it happened once more for Cullen, when he drew Gerwyn Price in the last 32. ‘The Iceman’ surged 3-0 ahead and seemed to be cruising into the last 16. Cullen, however, produced a sensational comeback to level at 3-3. Unfortunately for ‘Rockstar’ it went narrowly wrong yet again at the end, as Price took it in a sudden-death leg.

Whether this afternoon will deliver another thriller remains to be seen, but the chances are there. Early January, Brooks showcased his talent by winning a tour card via Q-School, where he blew away the field. He amassed sixteen points, seven more than runner-up Darryl Pilgrim. He underlined that talent later by winning a Players Championship event, but his results on the big stage have been underwhelming this year. If he can bring his January form to Alexandra Palace, Joe Cullen might be facing a fresh World Championship trauma this year.