Luke Littler

World Matchplay darts 2025: Day two predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sun July 20, 2025 · 5M ago

The 2025 Betfred World Matchplay continues at the Winter Gardens on Sunday so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.

World Matchplay day two: Sunday July 20

TV Coverage: Sky Sports, 1300 BST & 1900 BST
Format: First round, best of 19 legs

SL Evening Acca: 0.5pts Anderson (-3.5), Clayton & Bunting all to win plus Luke Littler to do match treble at 6/1 with Sky Bet

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

EVENING SESSION (1900 BST)

Gary Anderson (2/9) v Luke Woodhouse (3/1)

Head-to-head: 3-2
Three-Dart Average (2025): 98.07 - 92.85
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.36 - 0.25
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 41.53% - 38.43%

It's been seven long years since Gary Anderson won his last of his eight major PDC title but at the age of 55, the evergreen Flying Scotsman comes here with plenty of fans dreaming that he could lift the Phil Taylor Trophy for a second time.

The 2018 World Matchplay champion is ranked fourth for averages this season with a lofty 98.07 while he's won two titles this season including one on the European Tour and also reached last weekend's Baltic Sea Open final where he finished runner-up to Gerwyn Price.

Anderson has also averaged over 100 in 30 of his 73 matches which gives him a percentage of 41% that is third only to Littler (58%) and Humphries (44%) and on a par with Josh Rock.

He heads to Blackpool a lot fresher than many rivals having managed his schedule to avoid fatigue, while he also proved at last year's Grand Slam of Darts that he can still defy the aging process by maintaining a high standard for longer format matches.

Anderson not only reached the semi-finals but came agonisingly close to defeating Littler in an absolute thriller that went down to the wire.

Unless he has a poor night at the office, Anderson should have far too much firepower for Luke Woodhouse and I'd expect him to run out at fairly comfortable winner and dominate the 180s market too.

Woodhouse has done well to sneak into the qualification places via the Pro Tour Order of Merit and while he's enjoyed a pretty steady - if unspectacular - campaign, there's not much evidence to foresee an upset.

Score Prediction: 10-6

Jonny Clayton (8/15) v Martin Schindler (11/8)

Head-to-head: 6-6
Three-Dart Average (2025): 96.45 - 94.26
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.28 - 0.28
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 41.66% - 39.30%

Jonny Clayton is another player in the 50 club who's rolling back the years this season and won't be short of backers for the title.

The inspired Ferret, who admitted during the World Championship that his days at the top could be numbered, has been playing like a man desperate to get as much out of the game while he still can and was rewarded with runs to the World Masters final and the last four of the UK Open.

Clayton has picked up a title on the Pro Tour and the European Tour, while from a stats perspective he's been flying recently with six 100+ averages from his 13 matches in July.

The Welshman didn't get too much luck with the draw considering Martin Schindler comes to Blackpool off the back of a promising season so far with two titles to his name, including one on the European Tour, but ultimately the diminutive German always seems to struggle on the major stage and has suffered first-round exits in each of his previous three visits to the Winter Gardens.

Logic points towards a commanding win for Clayton.

Score Prediction: 10-5

Luke Littler (1/8) v Ryan Searle (9/2)

Head-to-head: 3-0
Three-Dart Average (2025): 100.93 - 95.98
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.46 - 0.33
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 42.18% - 39.73%

SELECTION: 1pt Luke Littler to win and throw 8+ 180s at 2/1 (Sky Bet)

I predicted the demise of Luke Humphries last night but I'm not sensing the same fate for Luke Littler.

The world champion, who returns to Blackpool with a score settle after crashing out in the opening round on debut 12 months ago to Michael van Gerwen, is the only player to have a yearly average of over 100 (100.93) while he's astonishingly reached three figures in 60 of his 102 matches and fired in 500 maximums which is over 100 more than his closet rival Gerwyn Price.

Since making history at the Ally Pally, the Nuke has predominantly focused his attention on the Premier League which goes some way to explaining why he's 'only' won two titles - although one of them was the UK Open thanks to a string of staggering performances.

Littler has only competed in two European Tour events - winning one of them in Belgium - while he's missed 15 of the 21 Players Championship tournaments as he opts to be highly selective in his schedule.

Apart from a failed World Cup bid and some fruitless World Series trips we haven't really seen him much since the Premier League final and it speaks volumes that the only headlines he's been making recently is for failing his driving theory test for a fourth time.

The examiner said 'Luke you require 43' but couldn't take it out and now he'll probably want to take his frustration out on the treble 20 bed tonight.

Some may say Ryan Searle is a tough draw and they're right. But Luke Littler is an absolute nightmare draw for Ryan Searle.

Heavy Metal played well this season with one title to his name and his average of almost 96 puts him on the cusp of the top 10 but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get blown away.

Score Prediction: 10-4

Stephen Bunting (2/7) v Ryan Joyce (5/2)

Head-to-head: 4-3
Three-Dart Average (2025): 97.77 - 93.20
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.34 - 0.21
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 40.48% - 42.74%

Stephen Bunting has reached more finals than anyone this season with seven and he's won three of those including stage events in Bahrain, Riesa and Copenhagen to almost banish all memories of his difficult Premier League campaign.

Statistically he's right up there well inside the top 10 for seasonal averages (97.77) and if you shorten the sample size to the start of June he's second with 98.83.

Bunting may not have a great track record in Blackpool with just one quarter-final run in 10 appearances but it's fair to say he's a lot more established and confident than he ever has been so this could well be the year he mounts a serious Winter Gardens challenge.

The St Helens ace has to make sure he backs up his heavy scoring with sharp finishing tonight to prevent giving the dangerous Ryan Joyce too many opportunities on double 16 and there's plenty of reason for optimism on both fronts.

It's Joyce's third appearance in Blackpool and so far he's yet to win a match on this stage so that could play on his mind if it gets close.

Score Prediction: 10-6

AFTERNOON SESSION (1300 BST)

Damon Heta (4/9) v Andrew Gilding (13/8)

Head-to-head: 5-3
Three-Dart Average (2025): 95.13 - 93.85
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.27 - 0.22
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 45.15% - 39.18%

SELECTION: 1pt Damon Heta to win and hit most 180s at 13/10 (Paddy Power)

Damon Heta's stock has continued to climb this year, particularly in recent months thanks to a couple of Pro Tour titles and a narrow final defeat to Nathan Aspinall on the European Tour.

The increasingly-popular Aussie still needs a really big run in a major to truly solidify his claims for a future Premier League spot and I feel he can get his World Matchplay campaign off to a winning start against Andrew Gilding.

Heta boasts a higher seasonal average than the former UK Open champion, who recently proved once again how dangerous he can be by reaching a European Tour final, while his 180 hitting is generally more prolific.

Confidence will be pretty high for Heta considering his most recent title came earlier in July thanks to victories over Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting so expect him to get the Winter Gardens crowd warmed up nicely.

Score Prediction: 10-6

If every player - past or present - were at their peak today, what would the world's top 5 be?

This is @DamonHeta180's verdict... pic.twitter.com/4kIz0mxu7Y
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) May 27, 2025

Rob Cross (5/6) v Dirk van Duijvenbode (5/6)

Head-to-head: 3-3
Three-Dart Average (2025): 96.92 - 97.56
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.25 - 0.42
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 40.31% - 39.13%

SELECTION: 1pt Van Duijvenbode to win and hit most 180s at 6/5 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)

It's been an understandably inconsistent year for Rob Cross and he arrives in Blackpool with questions marks about his chances of winning a second World Matchplay title.

Voltage, who started the year on fire by winning the Dutch Darts Masters and the first Players Championship event, admitted his well publicised financial problems had an impact on performances but after a shock 6-0 defeat to Danny Lauby at the US Masters plus a couple of other sub-90 averages on the World Series Tour in Poland earlier this month, he did regain some form on the Pro Tour recently.

WATCH: PHIL TAYLOR'S CRAZY STATISTICS AT THE WORLD MATCHPLAY

Phil Taylor's INSANE World Matchplay stats

Dirk van Duijvenbode, by contrast, has been enjoying a resurgence in 2025 and while he's not won any titles yet, he's been firing in high averages and his rate of 180s per leg is up to what it was before his injury problems.

If DVD, who boasts a higher seasonal average than Cross, can come out all guns blazing then his firepower could prove too much for the former champion to handle.

Score Prediction: 7-10

Peter Wright (11/10) v Jermaine Wattimena (8/11)

Head-to-head: 18-5
Three-Dart Average (2025): 93.96 - 95.37
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.26 - 0.26
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 38.76% - 41.83%

Not only is Peter Wright no longer talked about as a possible major contender, but he's also turning up to majors as the outsider against unseeded opponents.

That's no surprise given the noticeable gap in averages between these two players this season but they've both reached a solitary Pro Tour final in 2025 and it's hardly as if Jermaine Wattimena has been playing to levels that will strike fear into Snakebite.

I expect a fairly scrappy encounter and I wouldn't be able to back either player with much confidence.

Score Prediction: 7-10

Dave Chisnall (11/10) v Mike de Decker (4/6)

Head-to-head: 4-2
Three-Dart Average (2025): 92.54 - 94.82
180s per leg (Last 12 months): 0.32 - 0.34
Checkout % (Last 12 months): 39.27% - 38.71%

The days of me (unwisely) tipping Dave Chisnall to win major titles may have gone (for the time being at least) but there was a spell of form earlier this year which made me think he was on his way back to prominence.

He averaged over 100 for an entire day back in May en route to his first final since last September and it's just a shame he hasn't managed to produce that kind of consistency since then.

Mike de Decker hasn't kicked on like we all expected in 2025 having won the World Grand Prix last year but since finishing runner up to Luke Littler at the Belgian Darts Open, his form has been fairly encouraging.

If Chizzy will have the crowd firmly on his side and if he can find his range with his 180 hitting he may well make life difficult for De Decker, but I feel that's as good as it might get.

Score Prediction: 6-10

SL Afternoon Acca: 1pt Heta, van Duijvenbode and de Decker all to win at 7/2 with Sky Bet