Gerwyn Price and Ross Smith meet on night three
Gerwyn Price and Ross Smith meet on night three

World Grand Prix darts 2026: Night three predictions, odds, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV times

Darts
Thu October 01, 2026 · 2w ago

The 2026 Boylesports World Grand Prix continues in Leicester on Wednesday night so here's Chris Hammer's match-by-match preview and best bets.

World Grand Prix: Wednesday September 30

  • TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1800 GMT)
  • Second Round: 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, Nijman and Woodhouse all to win at 10/1 with Sky Bet

Danny Noppert v Ryan Joyce

SELECTION: 1pt Ryan Joyce to win and Danny Noppert to hit most 180s at 5/2 (bet365)

Danny Noppert looked like the 2025 version of Danny Noppert during the first five legs of his match with Niko Springer on Monday night but ended up having to survive a scare to reach round two.

Ryan Joyce by contrast produced a phenomenal display of finishing (66.67%) to dump Michael van Gerwen out of the competition and it was no real surprise considering how strong he is on double 16.

The stats ahead of Danny Noppert v Ryan Joyce

This is the kind of tournament that suits him well due to his roots in the North East - where this format is played more prominently than in other regions - and the fact he's not known as a heavy scorer.

Although 180 hitting comes in handy for any format, the key here is getting away as quickly as possible and I fancy him to do another impressive job tonight.

Noppert will probably still hit most maximums given his far superior 180 per leg ratio but that may not be enough to help him win the match.

Scoreline prediction: 1-3

Jonny Clayton v Wessel Nijman

Wessel Nijman is one of my tips to come through his section of the draw and he made a solid enough start with a 2-0 victory over Rob Cross.

That was his first double-start victory having made an early exit to Cross on debut 12 months ago so now he's got that experience under his belt, I'm expecting a much more impressive display.

The stats ahead of Jonny Clayton v Wessel Nijman

The Dutch star has grown into a much stronger player this season having bagged eight titles in 2026 and Jonny Clayton will have to be at his clinical best to deny him.

The Ferret is one of the most reliable double-start players around having lifted this trophy back in 2021 and has also enjoyed other deep runs in this format, but he was in a real battle with Krzysztof Ratajski last time out and this will be an even stiffer challenge.

Scoreline prediction: 1-3

Gerwyn Price v Ross Smith

SELECTION: 2pts Over 8.5 180s in Price v Smith at Evens (Boylesports, Paddy Power)

Gerwyn Price has an early opportunity to get revenge on Ross Smith for his recent defeat in the final of the World Series of Darts, where he cut a rather deflated figure following a below-par performance.

The Iceman has made no secret of his dislike for double-start darts but there's no doubt it's become one of his fortes having reached the final three times here, including back in 2020 when he lifted the trophy.

The stats ahead of Gerwyn Price v Ross Smith

He's reached the quarter-finals or better on three other occasions and on Monday night he produced a sublime display to average over 101 in a 2-0 victory over Sebastian Bialecki.

That's only the 6th time a player has managed a three-figure average in this format and Smith almost added another to the tally when posting 99.54 in his victory over Cameron Menzies, in which he came so close to defeat.

It promises to be a high-quality affair and I'm backing Price to edge it and keep alive his hopes of ending a major title drought.

Scoreline prediction: 3-2

Luke Woodhouse v Nathan Aspinall

SELECTION: 2pts Over 8.5 180s in Woodhouse v Aspinall at 11/8 (Boylesports)

Luke Woodhouse used to be known as the player who celebrated Damon Heta's World Championship nine-darter more than his opponent but on Monday night he hit the headlines more than ever with a fantastic victory over Luke Littler.

The stats ahead of Luke Woodhouse v Nathan Aspinalll

Woodhouse is certainly one of the most improving players on the circuit and it won't be long before he's a major winner himself if he continues along this path.

Even though Littler wasn't playing anywhere near his best, Woodhouse had to show a great deal of steely character to come back from one set down when many others would have folded and let the world number one off the hook.

Knowing a phenomenon like Littler is 'there for the taking' brings it's own pressure, and I'm sure he could have guessed the commentators were saying things like "he'll never have a better opportunity than this to beat Littler".

He kept his cool and then spoke so calmly and sportingly afterwards, proving none of this would have gone to his head.

He's averaging more than Nathan Aspinall this season with a highly impressive 95.43 and has also won the first two PDC ranking of his career including one on the European Tour back in May.

Aspinall is obviously an extremely tough competitor who revels on the big stage and once again showed a mix of quality and character to see off Kevin Doets in round one.

However, I'm giving the edge to Woodhouse in a game that promises plenty of 180s given their prolific maximum per leg ratios - especially if it goes the distance.

Scoreline prediction: 3-2

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 1-2 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 2-0 Andrew Gilding

2026 World Grand Prix Schedule

Wednesday September 30 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Second Round matches (Best of 5 sets)

  • Danny Noppert v Ryan Joyce
  • Jonny Clayton v Wessel Nijman
  • Gerwyn Price v Ross Smith
  • Luke Woodhouse v Nathan Aspinall

Thursday October 1 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Second Round matches (Best of 5 sets)

  • Niels Zonneveld v Gary Anderson
  • Gian Van Veen v Ryan Searle
  • Luke Humphries v Jermaine Wattimena
  • James Wade v Stephen Bunting

Friday October 2 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Quarter-Finals (Best of seven sets)

  • Four matches

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

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

Darts: Related content

Like what you've read?
Share
Tweet
Email
Link

MOST READ

Join for Free
Image of stables faded in a gold gradientGet exclusive Willie Mullins insight, plus access to premium articles, expert tips and Timeform data, plus more...
Log in
Discover Sporting Life Plus benefitsWhite Chevron
Sporting Life Plus Logo

Next Off

Fixtures & Results

Fetching latest games....