Preview Tuesday evening PDC World Darts Championship: El Clasico between Van Gerwen and Anderson headlines in last session before New Year

It’s Tuesday evening, time for the final three matches of 2025. And what a schedule awaits, with no fewer than three Dutchmen looking to book their places in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Darts Championship.

A Dutch player features in every match of this evening session. We open with a clash between Gian van Veen and rising talent Charlie Manby. Then comes the El Clásico of Darts as Michael van Gerwen meets Gary Anderson, before Luke Humphries and Kevin Doets decide who completes the last-eight lineup.
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A superb billing between two players in their twenties fighting for a spot in the World Championship quarterfinals. The bigger surprise of the pair is undoubtedly Charlie Manby, who doesn’t even hold a PDC Tour Card. The 20-year-old Englishman qualified for the Worlds as number four on the Development Tour Order of Merit, and on his World Championship debut he’s shown no trace of stage fright. In the first round, Manby displayed his quality by ousting established name Cameron Menzies 3-2 in sets. He then swept aside American qualifier Adam Sevada 3-0 in sets. In his third round against Ricky Evans, Manby missed no fewer than 41 darts at doubles and posted a checkout rate of just 24.1 percent, yet still walked off with a 4-2 victory. Manby has thrown around a 90 average three times. Certainly not bad, but he will need to raise it notably to truly trouble his next opponent.

Gian van Veen was sternly tested in his opener by Cristo Reyes. The Spaniard nicked a set off the Dutchman, who eventually ground out a 3-1 win with a 98.91 average. Van Veen then produced his best match of the tournament against Alan Soutar. The Scot boldly took a 1-0 lead and even missed a set dart to go 2-0 up, but Van Veen roared back and beat ‘Soots’ 3-1 in sets thanks to a phenomenal 108.28 average, still the highest of the tournament. After the Christmas break, Van Veen never looked in danger against Madars Razma, who was comfortably dispatched 4-1 in sets.

This will be the second meeting between Manby and Van Veen, as they previously faced off on the Development Tour in 2024. Van Veen won that one 5-3. ‘GVV The Giant’ started the tournament as number ten seed, but on the world rankings he has already virtually climbed to sixth. A win over Manby would, in any case, move him past Stephen Bunting. Manby entered the tournament ranked only 166th in the world, largely because he has no Tour Card. Thanks to his strong run he now sits 81st, and a victory over Van Veen would take him into the top 64. That would secure a PDC Tour Card, meaning he wouldn’t need to head to Q-School next week.

By far the biggest blockbuster of the night. Two darts giants—former world champions and former world number one and two—square off for a place in the next round. Michael van Gerwen is gathering momentum in London after a sluggish start. In the first round, ‘Mighty Mike’ was in trouble against Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, who squandered chances to go 2-0 up on the three-time world champion. Later, the Japanese player also missed opportunities to level at 2-2, after which Van Gerwen could finally breathe with a 3-1 win. The Vlijmen native then made amends with a tidy 3-1 victory over William O’Connor, averaging 100.20. He never looked under threat against German surprise Arno Merk either, winning that tie 4-1 in sets.

Gary Anderson was also made to work hard in the first round by Adam Hunt. The Scot trailed 2-1 after three sets, but dug deep and edged it 3-2. He then produced a fabulous display against the in-form Connor Scutt. With a 105.41 average, his English opponent was efficiently beaten 3-1. Next came a thriller against Jermaine Wattimena. In scoring, Anderson was outstanding, striking fourteen 180s. But missed doubles allowed Wattimena to hang around for a long time. A tiebreak was needed, and Anderson struck with a 5-3 finish.

Van Gerwen and Anderson have been on tour for years and have faced off no fewer than 74 times in official competition. Van Gerwen now leads with 50 wins, while Anderson has taken victory 21 times. There are also three draws from the era when the Premier League Darts still allowed tied matches. Looking at the world rankings, Van Gerwen remains firmly third. Only a world title would lift him to second. Anderson has climbed two spots and virtually holds twelfth. With a win over Van Gerwen, he would also leapfrog number eleven Chris Dobey.

Luke Humphries will not be entirely at ease, because after routine wins over Ted Evetts (3-1) and Paul Lim (3-0), “Cool Hand Luke” was made to wobble by an excellent Gabriel Clemens. The world number two raced into a 3-0 lead in sets, but out of nowhere his German opponent turned it into a contest. With a string of 100+ checkouts, Clemens battled back to 3-2 and even had a handful of darts to level at 3-3 in sets. Clemens failed to convert, and Humphries duly showed his class by firing an 11-darter to avoid a seventh set.

Doets known as “Hawk Eye” is in the last sixteen at Alexandra Palace for the second year running, a fantastic achievement for the 27-year-old. In his opener against Matthew Dennant he fell a set behind, but Doets kept his composure and saw off his English opponent 3-1 in sets. He then unexpectedly faced David Munyua, the Kenyan sensation who had knocked out Mike De Decker a round earlier. Doets ignored the partisan crowd and wrapped up a professional 3-0 victory. That set up a sensational clash with Nathan Aspinall. “The Asp” squandered chances to lead 3-1 in sets, and the Dutchman pounced. With a phenomenal sixth set — averaging 118.7 — Doets hauled it back to 3-3, before leaving Aspinall no chance with a 3-0 sweep in the deciding seventh set.

Doets has already climbed three places in the live rankings and now sits 38th. A win over Humphries would move “Hawk Eye” up to 36th. His opponent Humphries can even reclaim the world number one spot after this tournament, though he will need some help. Only if Luke Littler is eliminated before the final will Humphries return to the top of the PDC Order of Merit with a world title.