Preview Winmau World Masters Saturday evening: Luke Littler and Luke Humphries aim to reach final day
PDCSaturday, 31 January 2026 at 14:30
At the Winmau World Masters we have reached the second-round matches which complete on Saturday night.
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There is plenty of anticipation for what Luke Littler will do. “The Nuke” seemed almost unbeatable in recent months, but got away with it in the opening round when he survived a match dart against Mike De Decker.
All second-round matches at the Winmau World Masters are played to four winning sets, with best-of-3 legs per set. Below you can find a preview of the matches scheduled for Saturday evening.
Rob Cross v Josh Rock
The evening session at Arena MK in Milton Keynes will be opened by Rob Cross and Josh Rock. Cross was already a runner-up at the Masters in 2023, back when it wasn’t a ranking event. After a poor 2025, the 35-year-old Englishman has slipped to twentieth in the world rankings and could certainly use a strong result this weekend to rebuild confidence.
“Voltage” — who was too strong for Ryan Searle 3-1 in his opener — meets Rock in the second round, after Rock himself won 3-1 against Connor Scutt in round one. “Rocky” has long been touted as a future major winner, but it was precisely at the majors where he fell short last year. Cross and Rock have met nine times before, with Cross edging the head-to-head 5-4. This showdown therefore promises to be particularly tight.
Stephen Bunting v Danny Noppert
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Next up Stephen Bunting takes on Noppert. “The Freeze” started his tournament excellently with a 3-1 win over Daryl Gurney, continuing last year’s strong major form. The 35-year-old Dutchman reached no fewer than four major semi-finals last year and is well on his way to doing the same at the first big event of the new season.
The former Masters champion opened with a 3-1 win over Dutch-born Swede Jeffrey de Graaf. Bunting’s inclusion in the Premier League Darts lineup was somewhat controversial, and he is eager to silence that criticism quickly with a standout performance. Bunting and Noppert have met fourteen times in the PDC, with Noppert currently leading 8-6, giving him a slight psychological edge going into this match.
Luke Littler v Ross Smith
He was so close to a first-round exit, but Luke Littler escaped by the narrowest margin after Mike De Decker missed a match dart to send him home. The Winmau World Masters is one of the few majors Littler has never won, and despite everything he remains on course to erase that blind spot from his résumé.
Littler faces Ross Smith in the second round, after Smith himself proved too strong 3-1 for Dutch debutant Jimmy van Schie in round one. Like Littler, Smith is known for his heavy scoring power, so we could see the 180s flying. Even so, Littler remains the firm favorite to reach the quarterfinals.
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Luke Humphries v Luke Woodhouse
The evening concludes with a duel of Lukes, Humphries against Woodhouse. Humphries, the defending champion after beating Jonny Clayton 6-5 in last year’s final, opened strongly with a 3-1 win over Dave Chisnall. What’s more, Humphries averaged over 104 and showed he means business in his bid to retain the title this year.
To book a quarterfinal spot he must get past Woodhouse. The 37-year-old Englishman has quietly climbed towards the world’s top 20 in recent months and will certainly not be underestimated by Humphries, even though Humphries leads their head-to-head 8-2.
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- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
- I'm sick of everything wanting paying for ad free stuff,every site you go on,it's pay pay for no ads. I mostly dread picking my phone up,as it's subscription required. I'm not surprised I'm bloody skint. Everyone wants to rob you for services that were freerick6714-08-2026
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