Van Gerwen comfortably dispatches Razma, Rock & Cullen among losers as first round of Players Championship 22 concludes
PDC
Michael van Gerwen was a comfortable winner in the opening round of Players Championship 22 although not all the big names in action could boast the same.
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The 34-year-old Dutchman won 6-2 over Madars Razma thanks to an average of 103. Furthermore the likes of, Raymond van Barneveld, Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright, Dimitri van den Bergh, Chris Dobey, Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Dirk van Duijvenbode, James Wade, Michael Smith, Ross Smith and Gabriel Clemens also qualified for the second round.
Of the big names, Josh Rock was the most famous name to be eliminated in the first round. He lost 6-4 to Boris Krcmar. Gian van Veen, Luke Woodhouse, Steve Beaton, Ryan Searle and Joe Cullen also failed to make it through the first match.
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Players Championship 22
Last 128
Kim Huybrechts 6 | 5 Stephen Burton
Pascal Rupprecht 6 | 3 George Killington
Damon Heta 6 | 2 Martin Lukeman
Cameron Menzies 6 | 5 Karel Sedlacek
Andrew Gilding 6 | 2 Niels Zonneveld
Tony Martinez 6 | 2 Jamie Clark
Nathan Aspinall 6 | 3 Nathan Rafferty
Darren Webster 6 | 3 Connor Scutt
Raymond van Barneveld 6 | 5 Jamie Hughes
Owen Bates 6 | 4 Matt Campbell
Krzysztof Ratajski 6 | 3 Graham Hall
John Henderson 6 | 1 Adam Smith-Neale
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6 | 1 Robert Owen
William O'Connor 6 | 5 Brian Raman
Peter Wright 6 | 1 Joe Murnan
Danny Jansen 6 | 1 Ritchie Edhouse
Mickey Mansell 6 | 5 Gian van Veen
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6 | 4 Josh Payne
Jonny Clayton 6 | 1 Robbie Knops
Christian Kist 6 | 2 Simon Whitlock
Mike De Decker 6 | 5 Daniel Klose
Owen Roelofs 6 | 4 Nick Kenny
Stephen Bunting 6 | 3 Geert Nentjes
John O'Shea 6 | 4 Jose Justicia
Jimmy Hendriks 6 | 3 Luke Woodhouse
Scott Williams 6 | 5 Vladimir Andersen
Michael van Gerwen 6 | 2 Madars Razma
Ryan Meikle 6 | 1 Graham Usher
Daryl Gurney 6 | 3 Mervyn King
Kevin Doets 6 | 3 Keane Barry
Martin Schindler 6 | 5 Shaun Wilkinson
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6 | 4 Cam Crabtree
Jim Williams 6 | 1 Steve Beaton
Bradley Brooks 6 | 3 Vincent van der Voort
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6 | 1 Lewis Williams
Jules van Dongen 6 | 1 Keegan Brown
Jose De Sousa 6 | 4 Damian Mol
Chris Landman 6 | 4 Adam Warner
James Wade 6 | 0 Danny van Trijp
Jeff Smith 6 | 4 Ross Montgomery
Chris Dobey 6 | 4 Andy Boulton
Scott Waites 6 | 4 Richie Burnett
Danny Noppert 6 | 0 Alan Soutar
Lee Evans 6 | 4 Krzysztof Kciuk
Brendan Dolan 6 | 5 Robert Grundy
Steve Lennon 6 | 4 Ricky Evans
Maik Kuivenhoven 6 | 5 Ryan Searle
Callum Goffin 6 | 1 Jacques Labre
Ricardo Pietreczko 6 | 2 Jermaine Wattimena
Dylan Slevin 6 | 2 Ronny Huybrechts
Boris Krcmar 6 | 4 Josh Rock
Richard Veenstra 6 | 5 Arron Monk
Gary Anderson 6 | 5 Adam Gawlas
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6 | 4 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Ross Smith 6 | 5 Ted Evetts
Dom Taylor 6 | 1 Nick Fullwell
Callan Rydz 6 | 4 Radek Szaganski
Martijn Kleermaker 6 | 1 Kevin Burness
Michael Smith 6 | 3 Jurjen van der Velde
Darius Labanauskas 6 | 0 Devon Petersen
Gabriel Clemens 6 | 1 James Wilson
Ian White 6 | 5 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Ryan Joyce 6 | 5 Joe Cullen
Mensur Suljovic 6 | 3 Florian Hempel
Last 64
Kim Huybrechts - | - Pascal Rupprecht
Damon Heta - | - Cameron Menzies
Andrew Gilding - | - Tony Martinez
Nathan Aspinall - | - Darren Webster
Raymond van Barneveld - | - Owen Bates
Krzysztof Ratajski - | - John Henderson
Dimitri Van den Bergh - | - William O'Connor
Peter Wright - | - Danny Jansen
Mickey Mansell - | - Mario Vandenbogaerde
Jonny Clayton - | - Christian Kist
Mike De Decker - | - Owen Roelofs
Stephen Bunting - | - John O'Shea
Jimmy Hendriks - | - Scott Williams
Michael van Gerwen - | - Ryan Meikle
Daryl Gurney - | - Kevin Doets
Martin Schindler - | - Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jim Williams - | - Bradley Brooks
Dirk van Duijvenbode - | - Jules van Dongen
Jose De Sousa - | - Chris Landman
James Wade - | - Jeff Smith
Chris Dobey - | - Scott Waites
Danny Noppert - | - Lee Evans
Brendan Dolan - | - Steve Lennon
Maik Kuivenhoven - | - Callum Goffin
Ricardo Pietreczko - | - Dylan Slevin
Boris Krcmar - | - Richard Veenstra
Gary Anderson - | - Jeffrey De Zwaan
Ross Smith - | - Dom Taylor
Callan Rydz - | - Martijn Kleermaker
Michael Smith - | - Darius Labanauskas
Gabriel Clemens - | - Ian White
Ryan Joyce - | - Mensur Suljovic
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026