Preview Winmau World Masters 2026 Friday evening including Littler-De Decker and Humphries-Chisnall as standout ties

The Winmau World Masters heads into its second day. Friday evening features the remaining eight first-round matches, including the clash between the last two World Grand Prix champions, Mike De Decker and Luke Littler.

On the opening day of the Winmau World Masters, there was success for Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price and Gian van Veen among others with Michael van Gerwen being dumped out at the very first hurdle.

The first-round matches are played over the best of three sets, with two legs needed to win a set. Below is a preview of the eight matches scheduled for Friday evening at Arena MK in Milton Keynes.

The evening in Milton Keynes kicks off with the duel between Marin Schindler and Luke Woodhouse. Schindler enters the tournament as the fifteenth seed and, given his world ranking, is a slight favorite for this match. The German had a steady year, although things did not always click at the majors.

With Woodhouse he meets someone who has quietly climbed to 21st on the world ranking. The 37-year-old Englishman is increasingly becoming a player to watch at the big tournaments. Schindler and Woodhouse have met seven times before. Notably, Schindler won the first five encounters, but Woodhouse took the last two.

Next up is Jimmy van Schie. The towering Dutchman claimed his PDC Tour Card earlier this month and battled through the qualifier to make his debut at the Winmau World Masters. Van Schie, who won the WDF World Championship at the end of last year, meets Ross Smith in the opening round.

Smith starts this year’s Masters as the sixteenth seed. The 36-year-old Englishman has been around the PDC for some time and has already won a major. Experience won’t be lacking for Smith, yet Van Schie will fancy his chances of springing a surprise.

Immediately after Van Schie, it is time for Danny Noppert. Noppert enjoyed a superb 2025 with no fewer than four semi-finals at majors, but a big title was missing as the icing on the cake. That may also have cost him a Premier League Darts selection. Noppert is determined to prove the PDC bosses wrong this year, starting at these Masters.

In his opener, Noppert faces Daryl Gurney. The 39-year-old Northern Irishman won two majors in the past, but in recent years seemed to be treading water. That changed when he won the World Cup of Darts alongside Josh Rock. Since then, Gurney seems reborn.

Ryan Searle versus Rob Cross is a tough one to call. Searle may be in the form of his life, as evidenced by his semi-final run at the recent World Championship. “Heavy Metal” has climbed to eighth in the world, his highest ranking ever.

It’s a different story for Cross. The former world champion has dropped to twentieth after a particularly poor 2025 and urgently needs to regroup if he is to avoid sliding further.

Josh Rock has been touted for years as a future major champion. “Rocky” had a good 2025, rewarded with a Premier League Darts selection, but his major results often fell short. His goal for 2026 is to finally land that coveted major title, and why not this weekend at the Masters.

He meets Connor Scutt, who booked his place in the main draw via the qualifiers. Scutt had a poor 2025 and only just held onto his PDC Tour Card. The Englishman can do much better, as he has shown before. Rock and Scutt have met six times, with Rock winning on every occasion. The Northern Irishman clearly starts with a mental edge.

The duel between the last two World Grand Prix winners is the best way to describe the clash between Luke Littler and Mike De Decker. De Decker won the World Grand Prix in 2024 and was expected to fully break through at the top thereafter. Delivering on those expectations proved difficult. De Decker is now inside the world’s top 20, but endured a disappointing 2025, partly plagued by equipment issues. The 30-year-old Belgian has repeatedly said he expected more.

De Decker starts the new season with renewed belief, and he will need it against Littler. “The Nuke” not only won the World Grand Prix last year, he was unstoppable at most other majors too, capped by a second world title. The Winmau World Masters is one of the few majors the 19-year-old Englishman has never won.

The penultimate match of the evening pits Luke Humphries against Dave Chisnall. Humphries begins the tournament as defending champion, having edged Jonny Clayton 6-5 in last year’s final. The driven Humphries will be especially eager for a strong showing in Milton Keynes after exiting in the quarterfinals at the recent World Championship.

Dave Chisnall, ranked 22nd in the world, just made the main draw directly. The 45-year-old Englishman endured a disastrous 2025 by his standards and needs to bounce back urgently. Like Cross, he risks slipping further down the rankings otherwise.

The evening concludes with Stephen Bunting against Jeffrey de Graaf. Bunting has already won this tournament—albeit in a slightly different format—in 2024. “The Bullet” was selected for the 2026 Premier League Darts, a decision that sparked considerable debate. His major results last year were particularly underwhelming.

In his opener, Bunting takes on De Graaf, who reached the main draw via the qualifier. The Dutch Swede thus recovered well from an early exit at the recent World Darts Championship.