Wessel Nijman

World Matchplay darts 2026: Day two predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time

Darts

Sun July 19, 2026 · 3M ago

The 2026 Betfred World Matchplay continues on Sunday so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.

World Matchplay Evening Session: Sunday July 19

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

SL Acca: 1pt Wade, Ratajski (+2.5) & Nijman (-2.5) all to win at 5/2 with Sky Bet

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Ryan Searle v William O’Connor

Three-Dart Average (2026): 94.73 - 93.18
180s per leg (2026): 0.26 - 0.23
Checkout Percentage (2026): 40.28% - 39.84%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 1 (0) - 0 (0)

Ryan Searle is appearing on the World Matchplay stage for the sixth successive season but this is remarkably William O'Connor's Winter Gardens debut despite all his years on the circuit.

Blackpool experience tends to be crucial and that's why I have to give the edge to Heavy Metal, who also won a ranking title for the seventh year in a row back in March and continues to be one of the most consistent operators around.

Scoreline Prediction: 10-6

James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena

Three-Dart Average (2026): 94.68 - 93,78
180s per leg (2026): 0.23 - 0.26
Checkout Percentage (2026): 42.8% - 38.8%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 1 (0) - 0 (0)

SELECTION: 1pt James Wade to win and hit most 180s at 11/4 (Sky Bet)

The seasonal stats have to go out of the window when James Wade appears on a major stage, especially at Blackpool where his record is outstanding.

The Machine adores playing in front of genuine darts fans and the Winter Gardens is where some of his finest performances have come down the years and even as recently as last year he averaged over 100 for the tournament en route to finishing runner-up to Luke Littler.

Jermaine Wattimena also gave Littler a scare last year before bowing out 13-11 in round two but he'll have the crowd against him tonight and I fancy an inspired Wade to breeze through.

Scoreline Prediction: 10-5

Gian van Veen v Krzysztof Ratajski

Three-Dart Average (2026): 95.79 - 94.95
180s per leg (2026): 0.27 - 0.21
Checkout Percentage (2026): 40.26% - 38.72%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 0 (0) - 1 (0)

SELECTION: 1pt Ratajski to win and van Veen to hit most 180s at 7/2 (Sky Bet)

Gian van Veen may well be the world number three with an incredibly bright future ahead of him but he is vulnerable to a surprise exit tonight as he prepares to face the dangerous Krzysztof Ratajski.

Van Veen has struggled to produce his best form this season and that wasn't helped by being hospitalised with kidney stones earlier in the year and that understandably had quite long lasting side effects.

The young Dutchman says he doesn't want to be using that illness as an excuse for the dip in form and is looking forward to a return to the Winter Gardens, where he reached the quarter-finals 12 months ago.

However, Ratajski did beat him last week en route to winning the European Darts Open in Leverkusen so the Polish Eagle couldn't be feeling any more confident.

Despite my predicted result, I do feel van Veen will hit more 180s due to their sizeable difference in their respective maximum per leg stats.

Scoreline Prediction: 6-10

Wessel Nijman v Dave Chisnall

Three-Dart Average (2026): 97.70 - 90.82
180s per leg (2026): 0.34 - 0.27
Checkout Percentage (2026): 44.08% - 35.77%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 8 (0) - 0 (0)

SELECTION: 2pts Wessel Nijman to win, hit most 180s and highest checkout at 13/8 (Sky Bet)

Wessel Nijman is one of my tips for the whole title so I am expecting him to make a statement against a struggling Dave Chisnall tonight.

Last month, Nijman won the inaugural Slovak Darts Open to become just the the fourth player in history behind Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright to have claimed eight or more ProTour titles in a single season, with two of those being on the European Tour.

The other six were Players Championship events and although a lot of the biggest names such as Luke Littler and Luke Humphries hardly compete in those these days, it's still a relentless run of success which is creating more confidence with every passing week.

Crowds bigger and louder than Blackpool have seen him succeed this season so we don't really have to worry about the stage environment anymore, so the biggest question mark is the format when we get to the latter stages.

But over best of 19 legs, I'm sure he'll have plenty too much firepower than Chisnall, who unfortunately just isn't the player he used to be.

Scoreline Prediction: 10-4

AFTERNOON SESSION

Chris Dobey v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Three-Dart Average (2026): 97.63 - 96.03
180s per leg (2026): 0.35 - 0.24
Checkout Percentage (2026): 39.45% - 36.39%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 2 (0) - 0 (0)

SELECTION: 2pts over 12.5 180s in Dobey v van Duijvenbode at 27/20 (BetMGM)

The PDC have scheduled a potential 180 fest to kick start the Sunday afternoon session as Chris Dobey meets Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Both are among - as ever - the most prolific maximum hitters on the circuit this season and if this proves to be as lengthy a contest as I'm expecting then we can expect fireworks.

I'm going over 12.5 match 180s but in terms of a winner, I'm giving the edge to Dobey, who has the added confidence of winning two titles this season.

Scoreline Prediction: 10-8

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL WORLD MATCHPLAY TOURNAMENT PREVIEW AND STATS

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Gary Anderson v Ryan Joyce

Three-Dart Average (2026): 98.63 - 90.78
180s per leg (2026): 0.34 - 0.17
Checkout Percentage (2026): 42.82% - 38.59%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 0 (0) - 0 (0)

Gary Anderson may not have added to his career title haul this year but statistically he's again one of the highest performing players on the circuit and should be able to deal with Ryan Joyce.

However, the Flying Scotamsn has struggled in Blackpool over the past five years having failed to get past the second round, so it's just as well he's up against a player who is still searching for his first Winter Gardens victory at the fourth attempt.

Scoreline Prediction: 10-6

Michael van Gerwen v Andrew Gilding

Three-Dart Average (2026): 96.9 - 93.7
180s per leg (2026): 0.29 - 0.24
Checkout Percentage (2026): 38.6% - 40.01%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 3 (0) - 0 (0)

SELECTION: 1pt Andrew Gilding to beat MVG at 9/4 (BetMGM)

It'll be a rare treat for afternoon ticket holders at a major to see Michael van Gerwen on the schedule and they'll be equally pleased to be seeing cult hero Andrew Gilding as his opponent.

Goldfinger of course famously defeated MVG to win his only major title at the UK Open a few seasons back but since then he's proved it was no flash in the pan as he's continued to climb up the rankings and be a constant threat on the stage and floor.

He's even reached the quarter-finals here in the last two seasons and 12 months ago gave Luke Littler a massive scare before bowing out 16-14.

If Van Gerwen, who has picked up three titles this season, is at his best he should probably win but that's certainly no guarantee these days and the methodical Gilding can take him down.

Scoreline Prediction: 7-10

Jonny Clayton v Damon Heta

Three-Dart Average (2026): 95.92 - 94.17
180s per leg (2026): 0.30 - 0.23
Checkout Percentage (2026): 42.66% - 41.76%
Titles won in 2026 (TV titles in brackets): 0 (0) - 0 (0)

Jonny Clayton rounds off the afternoon session against Damon Heta and I'm expecting a fairly routine victory for the Ferret.

The Welshman would desperately love to go on another big run here having been runner-up here back in 2023 and also reached the semi-finals 12 months ago whereas Heta tends to struggle here having crashed out in round one in four of his five appearances.

Statistically Clayton is the sharper player and should also be expected to hit most 180s given their respective maximum per leg ratios in 2026.

Scoreline Prediction: 10-5

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