World Matchplay 2026: Former champions progress to second round in Blackpool Winter Gardens afternoon session

Former World Matchplay champions Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen booked their place in the second round of this year’s competition during the Sunday afternoon session at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.

The pair overcame Ryan Joyce and Andrew Gilding respectively, while Dirk van Duijvenbode beat Chris Dobey in the opening game and 2023 finalist Jonny Clayton brushed past Damon Heta in the concluding contest.

This followed wins for Josh Rock, Stephen Bunting, Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall on Saturday night.

Dobey 11-13 van Duijvenbode

The first blow landed in Sunday’s opener came in the seventh leg - which prompted the start of three consecutive breaks to van Duijvenbode’s advantage.

Dobey broke back in the 14th to level the scores at 7-7, but was unable to back that up with hold as the Dutchman immediately retook the lead.

With the finishing line in sight, van Duijvenbode found himself pegged back again in the 18th, as the contest went to a tie break.

The 34-year-old’s next visit to the board saw him throwing to stay in the match; which he did successfully, but only after surviving a missed match dart.

Dobey had a further three chances to win the contest on van Duijvenbode’s next throw; only to ultimately miss all three.

Instead, it was his opponent who produced what was the crucial break, before holding to progress with a 13-11 victory.

Reflecting on the result, van Duijvenbode said: “There were points when I felt like it wasn’t going to happen but then sometimes one treble in the middle can just change your mindset.

“You just think: ‘Okay, I’m still here, you can hit 140s all the time, I know this from practice.

“If you’re not doing it then you feel a bit negative, but at some point it does happen, and when it does - it goes.”

While for many Blackpool is one of the highlights of the calendar; van Duijvenbode doesn’t share that sentiment.

“It’s a big one, but I like almost every other one over this,” he added.

“The venue is big, the ceiling is good, and the crowd is very good, but it’s not my favourite tournament.”

Anderson 10-2 Joyce

The second game of Sunday’s afternoon session was a swift affair, with Gary Anderson sweeping to a 10-2 win over Joyce.

Following the match, the 2018 champion opted not to partake in a press conference to reflect on the win, but speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "The trebles were going in and the checkouts were going in. When it happens like that you can't do nothing wrong.

“Ryan has just come up against it. You get days where you can throw with your eyes shut and hit everything. That was one of those days."

Van Gerwen 10-6 Gilding

Fellow former champion Van Gerwen got off to a slow start, finding himself 4-1 behind to Gilding at the first break.

A near-nine darter following the resumption of play galvanised the Dutchman to win three consecutive legs to level things.

The match briefly went with throw again for two legs, before three consecutive breaks in Van Gerwen’s favour, before a crucial hold from the three-time winner to make it 8-6.

Van Gerwen ultimately won the next two legs to get over the line.

Discussing being back at the Winter Gardens, he said: “I always enjoy coming here, it’s a fantastic tournament - I love the format and the venue. I just need to make sure I keep battling my own battles.

“If you don’t feel comfortable then you shouldn’t be here; you need to feel comfortable so you can perform more and produce more.

“Memories are only created by performing well, and you can only perform well if you know what it’s like to lose - joy comes afterwards. Talent always comes up, it’s as simple as that.”

Clayton 10-7 Heta

In final game of the session, there were a couple of early breaks from both players, but it was Clayton who made the most of it and took full control.

By the second break, the former finalist had raced to a 7-3 lead, and wasn’t faulted in his efforts to get over the line after the restart despite a fight back from Heta, as he secured a 10-7 win.

“In any sport it helps when you’re relaxed, and smiling, laughing, joking generally helps,” Clayton said.

“If I win, I win; if I lose, I lose, but I’m not going to lose by not trying. I want to be here and lifting that trophy.

“It’s brilliant here with the chants and the banter - it’s true dart fans. There was not one whistle out there today, and I thought that was fantastic, and they were singing my favourite song American Pie. Hopefully I’ll be here next Sunday singing the same song.”