The 2026 Boylesports World Grand Prix quarter-finals take place in Leicester on Friday night so here's Chris Hammer's match-by-match preview and best bets.
World Grand Prix: Friday October 2
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 BST)
- Quarter-Finals: Best of 5 sets. All sets are the best of five legs. There will be no tie-break in any set. All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before he can begin scoring in each leg.
SL Acca: 1pt Joyce (+1.5 sets), Price, Wade & Humphries all to win at 6/1 with Sky Bet
Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Joyce
SELECTION: 1pt Ryan Joyce to win and Nathan Aspinall to hit most 180s at 3/1 (bet365)
Nathan Aspinall branded his performance against Luke Woodhouse as one of his best on the World Grand Prix stage and if he can score as heavily again then Ryan Joyce's ruthless double 16 hitting might not be enough to stop him.
He said: “I know I can score as well as anybody in the world of darts, and that’s what I practice on. Tonight it was up there with some of the best I’ve done on this stage. As long as I can handle the pressure, which I think I’ve shown already in these two games in the big moments… I’m going to be really tough to beat this week.”
However he did brand Joyce "ridiculous" on double 16 so it'll be fascinating to see which of their respective strengths come out on top tonight.
There's no guarantees in darts but Aspinall to hit more maximums than Joyce could almost be classed as one considering the Asp is firing them in at 0.42 per leg in Leicester while his opponent, who has never been known for being prolific on 180s, is down at 0.04.
However, Joyce has been so cool, calm and collected this week and is evidently enjoying a format that does suit his style of play - especially if his opponents start struggling to get away early.
It's not an easy one to call but I fancy Relentless to reach the semi-finals here for the second time in three years.
Scoreline prediction: 2-3
Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
SELECTION: 1pt Eight or more 180s in the match and 3+ 100+ checkouts at 9/4 (Sky Bet)
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will clash for the 47th time in their careers tonight but this is just the second meeting on the World Grand Prix stage.
Their last encounter here came during Clayton's trophy-laden 2021 season when the Ferret thrashed the then defending champion 5-1 to lift his third of four major titles that year.
It's fair to say that Price has otherwise bossed the friendly rivalry with 31 victories although this year it's been much tighter, with the Iceman picking up five of their nine encounters, including all three on the major stages (Masters, UK Open & World Series Finals).
Both players have a cracking record in the double-start format and have underlined their prowess this week with polished performances, particularly on the finishing doubles.
Price, who has yet to drop a set, has taken out 57% of his doubles while Clayton raised his tournament checkout percentage to 50% after an impressive 3-1 triumph over the well fancied Wessel Nijman.
I do expect all five sets and the majority of legs to be played in a high-quality affair which promises plenty of maximums and 100+ checkouts.
Scoreline prediction: 3-2
Gian van Veen v James Wade
James Wade claimed he's "nowhere near my best" after beating Stephen Bunting on Thursday night so that speaks volumnes for his expectations considering he comfortably won 3-1 and averaged an impressive 93.
It's been a wonderful season for the Machine, who is featuring in his 22nd World Grand Prix, having picked up three titles including a recent one on the European Tour and also on the World Series Tour - while he's now reached the quarter-finals or better of all five major tournaments he's been apart of.
He said: “I’ve got loads more gears to go, but talk is cheap, and I’m full of cheap talk!”
Gian van Veen, by contrast, hasn't yet hit the heights of 2025 and he's battled through to the quarter-finals here with two averages in the mid 80s against opponents in Dirk van Duijvenbode and Ryan Searle who didn't play to their best.
He said: “In the last two years I’ve played really well here, but I lost my first game. This year I didn’t play quite as well but maybe that’s the secret to winning!"
He won't beat Wade with similar performance levels and I'm siding with the Englishman to back up that "cheap talk" with another win.
Scoreline prediction: 1-3
Luke Humphries v Niels Zonneveld
SELECTION: 1pt Over 7.5 180s in the match at 11/10 (General)
Luke Humphries branded his first-round victory as one of his worst performances on the World Grand Prix stage but on Thursday night he responded with one of his better ones as he crushed Jermaine Wattimena.
Cool Hand, who is yet to drop a set, hit 74% of his double-in attempts and missed just five finishing darts at double to make a real statement of intent about his title ambitions.
Humphries still feels there's more levels in him this week - particularly on the scoring front - and if he gets closer to where he wants to be tonight then Niels Zonneveld is going to find it very tough just to pick up a set.
I've been backing the Dutchman to win all of his games so far this week so I'm certainly not underestimating his blossoming talents and his progress this week could well prove to be a springboard in his career.
Even though I expect Humphries to win with room to spare, there should still be plenty of maximums even if the match only lasts three or four sets. Both players have prolific 180s per leg stats this season and although they haven't been exactly firing on all cylinders this week in the low 0.20s, I don't feel eight or more between them is much to ask.
Scoreline prediction: 3-1
2026 World Grand Prix Draw & Results
Round One
- (1) Luke Littler 1-2 Luke Woodhouse
- (16) Nathan Aspinall 2-1 Kevin Doets
- (8) Danny Noppert 2-1 Niko Springer
- (9) Michael van Gerwen 1-2 Ryan Joyce
- (4) Gerwyn Price 2-0 Sebastian Bialecki
- (13) Ross Smith 2-1 Cameron Menzies
- (5) Jonny Clayton 2-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
- (12) Wessel Nijman 2-0 Rob Cross
- (2) Luke Humphries 2-0 Dave Chisnall
- (15) Chris Dobey 0-2 Jermaine Wattimena
- (7) Josh Rock 1-2 Niels Zonneveld
- (10) Gary Anderson 2-1 Damon Heta
- (3) Gian van Veen 2-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- (14) Ryan Searle 2-1 William O’Connor
- (6) James Wade 2-1 Joe Cullen
- (11) Stephen Bunting 2-1 Andrew Gilding
Round Two
- Luke Woodhouse 0-3 Nathan Aspinall (16)
- (8) Danny Noppert 0-3 Ryan Joyce
- (4) Gerwyn Price 3-0 Ross Smith (13)
- (5) Jonny Clayton 3-1 Wessel Nijman (12)
- (2) Luke Humphries 3-0 Jermaine Wattimena
- Niels Zonneveld 3-1 Gary Anderson (10)
- (3) Gian van Veen 3-2 Ryan Searle (14)
- (6) James Wade 3-1 Stephen Bunting (11)
Daily Schedule
Friday October 2 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Quarter-Finals (Best of five sets)
- Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Joyce
- Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
- Gian van Veen v James Wade
- Luke Humphries v Niels Zonneveld
Saturday October 3 (2030 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Semi-Finals (Best of seven sets)
- Two matches
Sunday October 4 (2000 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Final (Best of nine sets)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
What TV channel is the World Grand Prix on?
The World Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
World Grand Prix Prize Money
- Winner - £150,000
- Runner-up - £80,000
- Semi-finalists - £50,000
- Quarter-finalists - £35,000
- Second round - £20,000
- First round - £7,500
Tournament Format
- All Sets are the best of five legs. There will be no tie-break in any set.
- All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before he can begin scoring in each leg.
- First Round - Best of three sets
- Second Round - Best of five sets
- Quarter-Finals - Best of five sets
- Semi-Finals - Best of seven sets
- Final - Best of nine sets
World Grand Prix History
- Final scores in sets
- 1998 - Phil Taylor 13-8 Rod Harrington
- 1999 - Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess
- 2000 - Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess
- 2001 - Alan Warriner 8-2 Roland Scholten
- 2002 - Phil Taylor 7-3 John Part
- 2003 - Phil Taylor 7-2 John Part
- 2004 - Colin Lloyd 7-3 Alan Warriner
- 2005 - Phil Taylor 7-1 Colin Lloyd
- 2006 - Phil Taylor 7-4 Terry Jenkins
- 2007 - James Wade 6-3 Terry Jenkins
- 2008 - Phil Taylor 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
- 2009 - Phil Taylor 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
- 2010 - James Wade 6-3 Adrian Lewis
- 2011 - Phil Taylor 6-3 Brendan Dolan
- 2012 - Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Mervyn King
- 2013 - Phil Taylor 6-0 Dave Chisnall
- 2014 - Michael van Gerwen 5-3 James Wade
- 2015 - Robert Thornton 5-4 Michael van Gerwen
- 2016 - Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Gary Anderson
- 2017 - Daryl Gurney 5-4 Simon Whitlock
- 2018 - Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Peter Wright
- 2019 - Michael van Gerwen 5-1 Dave Chisnall
- 2020 - Gerwyn Price 5-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- 2021 - Jonny Clayton 5-1 Gerwyn Price
- 2022 - Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Nathan Aspinall
- 2023 - Luke Humphries 5-2 Gerwyn Price
- 2024 - Mike de Decker 6-4 Luke Humphries
- 2025 - Luke Littler 6-1 Luke Humphries
World Grand Prix Most Titles
- Phil Taylor - 11
- Michael van Gerwen - 6
- James Wade - 2
- Luke Littler - 1
- Mike de Decker - 1
- Luke Humphries - 1
- Jonny Clayton - 1
- Gerwyn Price - 1
- Daryl Gurney - 1
- Colin Lloyd - 1
- Alan Warriner - 1
- Robert Thornton - 1
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