2026 World Series of Darts Finals: Second round predictions and previews

The 2026 World Series of Darts Finals resumes on Saturday, with the second round of action taking place.

Eight spots in Sunday's quarterfinal session are up for grabs, so let's take a look at who may be playing on the final day.

2026 World Series of Darts Finals: Second round predictions and previews

Here are my second-round predictions.

MORE: 2026 World Series of Darts Finals: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained

Daryl Gurney vs. Ross Smith

Winner: Ross Smith, 10-4

Gurney is lucky to have reached the second round, after surviving several match darts against MVG in a full-distance encounter.

Ross Smith was the clear standout player out of the two on Thursday, so I expect Smith to continue playing the consistent and efficient standard we've seen out of him in the last few months.

Josh Rock vs. Ryan Searle

Winner: Josh Rock, 10-6

Rock looked like a well-oiled machine on Thursday.

It wasn't an easy win for the Northern Irishman, but that mainly had to do with his opponent, Stephen Bunting, who was playing incredible darts himself.

Rock managed to pull off a late-match comeback, and now faces Searle in the second round.

Rock has quietly had a pretty good year on tour, and with how he played in the opening round, I can see him winning this match and possibly going much further.

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Luke Humphries vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode

Winner: Luke Humphries, 10-5

DVD recently got the best of Humphries at an ET event, but don't expect to see the same result this time around.

The required 10 legs to win favors Humphries, but he will be pushed.

It won't help that he's playing a Dutch player in Amsterdam again, but he has enough time in the longer format to be able to experience some short dry spells or struggles.

Gian van Veen vs. Karel Sedlacek

Winner: Gian van Veen, 10-6

Both players had good opening performances, with GVV beating Chris Dobey 6-2, and Sedlacek beating Ben Robb 6-2.

I don't quite see Sedlacek picking up a win here, but he's certainly a player who likes to go about his business and give quality players like GVV a tough battle.

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Gerwyn Price vs. Jim Long

Winner: Gerwyn Price, 10-4

Price was dominant for most of his opening match against Brody Klinge.

Klinge stormed back into the game in the second half, but I don't anticipate something similar happening in this contest.

Long wasn't bad against Adam Leek, but it should be a fairly routine day for Price if he brings his A or B game.

James Wade vs. Wessel Nijman

Winner: Wessel Nijman, 10-8

This will be one of the best ties of the second round, with two in-form players going head to head.

I like Nijman's chances based on each player's opening result, but Wade, as always, can beat anyone on any given day.

Nijman's already had a great year, but it feels like he's had a great weekend at a major without really opening the floodgates.

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Luke Littler vs. Nathan Aspinall

Winner: Luke Littler, 10-7

Even when it looked like Littler's streak at majors may have been coming to an end against Danny Noppert on Friday, he was able to get it together and pick up a win.

Littler and Aspinall had a very entertaining battle at the Matchplay in July, and I expect to see another quality contest on Saturday.

Aspinall has been in great form, and Littler wasn't entirely at his best Friday night, but it's still hard to see Littler drop a game in this situation.

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Jonny Clayton vs. Motomu Sakai

Winner: Jonny Clayton, 10-6

Sakai had a much better first-round performance than Clayton, but we expect a much better showing from Clayton on Saturday night.

Sakai's ceiling is intriguing, but he's going to have to replicate what we saw Friday if he wants to try and pull off an upset here against Clayton.

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