Sporting Life
Gian van Veen
Gian van Veen

Darts results: Gian van Veen and Rob Cross reach round two of the PDC World Championship

By Sporting Life
Darts
Sat December 13, 2025 · 11h ago

Gian van Veen and Rob Cross secured stellar victories over Cristo Reyes and Cor Dekker respectively to advance to round two on Day Two of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.

European Champion Van Veen won at Alexandra Palace for the first time in his career, crashing in six maximums to win 3-1 and see off a resurgent Reyes.

The Dutchman soared into an early 1-0 lead before taking legs of 13, 14 and 15 darts to storm the second set and take a 2-0 advantage.

Despite a valiant fightback from Reyes which included a majestic 167 checkout, Van Veen held his nerve, closing out with a 14-darter to win on his third appearance at the tournament.

“It’s difficult to put this win into words,” confessed Van Veen, who plays Alan Soutar or Teemu Harju in round two.

“My first win on this stage, it’s phenomenal.

“In the ten minutes before the game started, I was really nervous, I told myself I had to get over the line today.

“I’ve been there two years ago when I went 2-0 up and lost 3-2, but luckily this time I got it done.

“I dealt with the pressure well which gives me even more confidence going into round two.”

Former World Champion Cross lit up the Alexandra Palace stage with a 3-0 win against Dekker, taking out a 170 checkout in the final leg to advance to round two.

Cross averaged over 98 to sweep the opening set in straight legs, and despite being forced to a deciding leg for the second set, Cross won four legs on the spin to secure the whitewash triumph.

“It’s nice to get through and get myself in this tournament,” admitted Cross, who lost his opening match to Scott Williams at last year’s World Darts Championship.

“This is the pinnacle of the game, the World Championship. This tournament changed my life all those years ago.

“The 170 at the end… I thought to myself, ‘I’m hitting this’.

“I’ve made some very happy memories here and I’d like to make some more.”

Cross is joined in round two by debutant Andreas Harrysson, who produced the first major shock of this year's World Championship by knocking out 12th seed Ross Smith in a deciding set.

The Swede, who trailed on two occasions throughout the game, survived a whopping six match darts from Smith in the fourth set before levelling the game at 2-2.

Harrysson then missed four match darts of his own before snatching the final set to win his first ever match on the Alexandra Palace stage.

“I feel fantastic, absolutely fantastic,” said Harrysson, who plays either Thibault Tricole or Motomu Sakai in round two.

“There was a lot of pressure; in the first set I looked at the crowd and thought wow, what a crowd!

“Ross Smith’s a great player. I know what I can do, and hopefully I can continue to win.”

Ricky Evans produced a whitewash win against Man Lok Leung, taking out a spectacular 134 checkout in trademark rapid fashion en route to taking the first set.

Despite five 180s and moments of power scoring from Leung, Evans held on to win the next two sets, securing his seventh consecutive opening round win at Alexandra Palace.

Damon Heta also safely secured his progress with a 3-1 triumph over Steve Lennon.

The Australian number one produced an impressive 58% success rate on the doubles throughout the match, recovering after missing three match darts in the third set to win the final stanza in straight legs.

Meanwhile, Ryan Searle won his opening match at Alexandra Palace for the eighth consecutive year, breezing past Chris Landman 3-0 and hitting an impressive 47% of attempts on the outer-ring in the process.

Dutchman Niels Zonneveld produced his second-ever win at the World Darts Championship with a 3-0 victory over Haupai Puha, averaging a whopping 115 in the final set to secure a straight-sets win.

Elsewhere, Ian White defeated Mervyn King in his 14th appearance at the tournament, reeling off six consecutive legs to storm into a 2-0 lead before fending off a late comeback to secure a 3-2 win in a marathon contest.

The festive darting bonanza continues at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, as two-time World Champion Gary Anderson headlines the afternoon’s action against Adam Hunt.

In a bumper evening session, world number two and 2023/24 World Champion Luke Humphries takes on former World Youth Champion Ted Evetts, whilst rising Dutch star Wessel Nijman faces Karel Sedlacek.

World Championship: Friday results & Saturday schedule

Friday December 12
Afternoon Session
Round One

  • Niels Zonneveld 3-0 Haupai Puha (3-2, 3-2, 3-0)
  • Ian White 3-2 Mervyn King (3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 2-3, 3-0)
  • Ryan Searle 3-0 Chris Landman (3-0, 3-2, 3-1)
  • Rob Cross 3-0 Cor Dekker (3-0, 3-2, 3-0)

Evening Session
Round One

  • Andreas Harrysson 3-2 Ross Smith (2-3, 3-2, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1)
  • Ricky Evans 3-0 Man Lok Leung (3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
  • Gian van Veen 3-1 Cristo Reyes (3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 3-2)
  • Damon Heta 3-1 Steve Lennon (3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 3-0)

Saturday December 13
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4

  • Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
  • Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
  • Luke Woodhouse v Boris Krcmar
  • Gary Anderson v Adam Hunt

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4

  • Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
  • Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek
  • Luke Humphries v Ted Evetts
  • Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman

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