Preview Winmau World Masters Saturday afternoon: Clayton-Price and Anderson-Wade headline opening second round ties

In Milton Keynes, the Winmau World Masters heads into its final weekend. Saturday afternoon features the first four matches of the second round.

The past two days saw the first-round matches completed at the Winmau World Masters. Sixteen players remain to battle it out this weekend for the title.

There are several enticing ties on the card, such as the clash between Gary Anderson and James Wade, and the all-Welsh duel between Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price.

All second-round matches are played over four winning sets, best-of-3 legs per set. Below is a preview of the matches scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

The afternoon session in Milton Keynes opens with Damon Heta against Chris Dobey. Heta produced a huge upset in the first round by beating Michael van Gerwen 3-1. The Australian has long been known for thriving on the floor circuit, but his major results have often lagged. Against Van Gerwen he, like his opponent, did not reach great heights, but he took his chances when they came. Heta even finished with a higher average than Van Gerwen, yet came out on top.

He will likely need to raise his level against Dobey to win again. Dobey won the Masters back in 2023 and is hungry for another title, especially now that this has become a ranking event. “Hollywood” swept past Jermaine Wattimena 3-0 in the opening round and only just missed a ton average. Dobey and Heta have met ten times, with Heta winning eight of those meetings. However, Dobey took the last two.

Gary Anderson and James Wade, two vastly experienced campaigners, square off in the second round. Anderson reached the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship earlier this year and showed he’s far from finished. “The Flying Scotsman” is determined to land another major, so why not this weekend? He was tested by Niels Zonneveld in the first round, but edged it 3-2.

James Wade has been at the top for years and made two major finals last year. After his 3-2 first-round win over Madars Razma, the 42-year-old Englishman again took aim at the PDC. Wade reiterated he cannot fathom why he was not selected for the 2026 Premier League Darts. “The Machine” therefore takes to these Masters with an added mission: to prove the PDC wrong.

Next up is Gian van Veen. The 23-year-old from Poederoijen is, along with Danny Noppert, the only remaining Dutchman in the tournament. Van Veen fully broke through at the top last year with a European Championship title and then a World Championship final. He started somewhat sluggishly in the first round against Ryan Joyce, but three sets on the spin saw him advance with relative comfort to the second round.

He will likely need an extra gear against Nathan Aspinall. “The Asp” was too strong for Shane McGuirk in the first round, winning 3-1 with an average close to 106. Aspinall and Van Veen have met five times, with Aspinall winning three. Their most recent meeting was earlier this month at the Bahrain Darts Masters, where Van Veen won their semi-final 7-4.

The afternoon session concludes with the all-Welsh clash between Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price. Clayton reached the Masters final last year, losing 6-5 to Luke Humphries by the narrowest of margins. In 2021 he won the Masters, which was not yet a ranking event at the time. “The Ferret” started well with a 3-1 first-round win over Wessel Nijman.

The standout performance in the first round, however, came from Price. “The Iceman” beat James Hurrell 3-0 with an average of over 108. If he reproduces that level this afternoon, Clayton faces a stern test. Price is also craving another major title, with his last dating back to 2022.