World Darts Championship 2026: Gian van Veen, Ricky Evans and Damon Heta progress as seed Ross Smith knocked out | Darts News

Gian van Veen survived a scare against Cristo Reyes to pick up a 3-1 win at Alexandra Palace, his first victory in the World Darts Championship at the third time of asking.

World No 7 Van Veen remarkably entered night two at the Palace without a win on the big stage to his name having lost to Man Lok Leung and Ricardo Pietreczko on his two previous appearances, but this time he managed to battle to victory.

The Dutchman did not have to reach particularly dizzy heights to wrap up the opening set, his 92.26 average enough to keep Reyes at bay.

The second set was where Van Veen really came into his own and he showed his form of late with a staggering 107 average helping him to canter 2-0 ahead.

However, Reyes would not back down and found a brilliant 167 checkout on the bullseye, plus two breaks of throw, to get a set on the board before taking the fourth set all the way, Van Veen eventually clinching his monumental win on D16.

“Finally across that line! The last few years have been a massive struggle here on this stage but today I felt right at home. Luckily it paid off,” Van Veen told Sky Sports.

“Two years ago when I was 2-0 up against Man Lok Leung and he won 3-2. When Cristo took the third set I went ‘oh no, don’t go back to 2-2 and get nervy’.

“Luckily, in the last set at 2-1 down I started playing well, so I’m very happy.”

Meanwhile, Ross Smith became the first seed to tumble at this year’s World Championship as he squandered six match darts in a surprise defeat to 50-year-old Swedish debutant Andreas Harrysson.

Smith, seeded 12th, led 2-1 but failed to take his chance in the fourth set after fighting off the Ally Pally wasp and was punished by Harrysson who won five legs in a row on his way to taking the match to a deciding set and winning the fifth set itself.

Evans and Heta show class and showmanship in first-round wins

Ricky Evans put in a solid display to pick up a 3-0 win over Lok Leung in the first round.

Lok Leung made his mark on Ally Pally back in 2024 when he beat Van Veen on his debut but could not replicate such a feat on his return.

Evans delighted the crowd with his festive walk-on to Shakin’ Stevens’ ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ and then excited them with his darts, a sensational 134 checkout the highlight in the first set as he romped into a 1-0 lead.

Evans did not let his level drop in the second set, but Lok Leung met him to turn it into a real battle, the Englishman eventually surviving the scare and pinning tops to move 2-0 ahead.

Despite Lok Leung breaking the Evans throw to take the third set to a fifth deciding leg, Evans fired in his 11th 140 on the way to leaving 84, nailing D12 for the match.

Damon Heta put in a comprehensive display to claim a 3-1 victory over Steve Lennon.

‘The Heat’ lived up to his nickname in the opening set as he took all three legs, landing silky 144 and 110 checkouts on the way to the 1-0 lead. Lennon then rallied as the pair shared breaks in the opening legs of the second set but the Aussie came good with a 100 checkout to seal the deal, putting on a show for the Ally Pally faithful.

Heta’s clinical finishing display was brought to a halt as Lennon battled back in a deciding leg to bring the score line to 2-1 but from there he came out firing again to take three legs on the bounce to wrap up the fourth set for victory.

Cross signs off win with ‘The Big Fish’ as White, Searle make winning starts

Former world champion Rob Cross made a strong start his bid for a second world title after thrashing Norway’s Cor Dekker in straight sets on Friday afternoon at Alexandra Palace.

The 2018 winner of the Sid Waddell Trophy only dropped two legs during a one-sided contest against Dekker, who struggled on the outer ring on his World Championship debut.

Cross breezed through the first set in straight legs and took the second in a final-leg decider, then produced a showstopping finish as he closed out victory by nailing the first ‘Big Fish’ 170 checkout of this year’s tournament.

“I was a little bit edgy today,” Cross told Sky Sports. “I thought I was going to come out and be brand new but I wasn’t. I’m really proud of myself. Glad to get through and there’s a lot more in the tank. Lots of fire in the belly. I think I’ll be better in the next game – I’m back!”

‘Voltage’ will next face Ian White, who squandered a two-set lead against fellow veteran Mervyn King before claiming a dramatic 3-2 victory, while Neils Zonneveld set up a second-round meeting with former world champion Michael Smith after a 3-0 win over Haupai Puha.

The other match of the session saw Ryan Searle thrash Chris Landman in straight sets, with ‘Heavy Metal’ – the 17th seed – now facing Brendan Dolan or Tavis Dudeney in the next round.

What’s next?

Mario Vandenbogaerde faces David Davies in the opening match of Saturday’s afternoon session, live from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Darts, with reigning world champion Luke Littler awaiting the winner.

Andrew Gilding plays Cam Crabtree, Luke Woodhouse takes on Boris Krcmar and Gary Anderson begins his bid for a third world title against Adam Hunt, before Luke Humphries headlines the evening session from 7pm.

Jeffrey de Graaf is up against the legendary Paul Lim and Wessel Nijman plays Karel Sedlacek ahead of Humphries’ opener with Ted Evetts, while the final match sees former semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens face Alex Spellman.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.