In a bumper day of darts, two former world champions take to the Alexandra Palace stage in the first session of day 15. Round three of the 2026 World Darts Championship saw record scoring from Ryan Searle, Rob Cross back to business and Gary Anderson producing magic in possibly the best game of the tournament so far!
MATCH 1: Martin Schindler vs Ryan Searle
Ryan Searle demonstrated his best ever darts, but insisted that there is still “more to come” as his high scoring heavy metal stunned Martin Schindler 4-0 to extend his 100% set winning run.
‘The Wall’ and ‘Heavy Metal’ entered this match following 3-0 wins from their respective round two ties. Schindler had a slightly better tournament average of 97.54, compared to Searle’s 95.80 before the game, with the Englishman edging ahead on the doubles with a checkout percentage of 55% bettering the German’s 38%.
It was a perfect start as they both scored a maximum on their first visit. Eight missed doubles for the German saw Searle break his opponent’s throw to win the first set.
Schindler looked like he had fixed his checkout troubles in the first leg of the second set, as he broke throw after the first time of asking. But ‘Heavy Metal’ was relentless, continuing his high scoring, and checking out a 151 to with Schinder missing more important doubles.
It was more one way traffic in the third set as Searle amplified his scoring averaging 104.86 . Some seriously stylish darts were displayed as ‘Heavy Metal’ set up the final leg with a big fish, leaving himself 40 which he took out without any bother.
Schindler was left stranded as Searle powered his way to a 4-0 victory. The only thing missing, was a dart at 170 to win the game which hit the 25 instead. A set average of 109.98 and was the result of Searle’s best ever performance in a World Championship fixture.
Searle will play James Hurrell in the round of 16, after he impressed by dumping Stephen Bunting out of the competition last night.
Result: Martin Schindler 0-4 Ryan Searle
MATCH 2: Damon Heta v Rob Cross
Former World Champion Rob Cross, swept past Damon Heta in round three as Cross appeared to be back to his confident self, taking advantage of Heta’s poor doubles, and comfortably winning the game 4-0.
It was an evenly matched tie on paper as Cross, the 17th seeded, was paired off against Heta, the 16th seed. Cross moved into an early lead holding throw, and averaging ten more than ‘The Heat’ in the opening set. He only offered the Australian one chance at a double.
There were ten missed doubles from Heta across set two. The man from down under had three darts to break throw in the second leg, and more opportunities to win the set throughout. However, Voltage kept the energy, and took it to the fifth set and punished Heta’s poor finishing to win the set.
In the highest scoring set of the game, both players had tonne-plus averages as Heta’s troubles on doubles eased. The Australian broke Cross’ throw for the first time in the third leg of the second set but Cross broke straight back. 180s were followed by more 180s, but Heta’s missed dart at the bull left Cross with double tops, completing set three.
Three missed match darts for Cross opened the window for ‘the Heat’ to revive himself. However, Heta extinguished the opportunity by coming up cold on a difficult 126 and Cross took home the victory.
Result: Damon Heta 0-4 Rob Cross
MATCH 3: Gary Anderson v Jermaine Wattimena
In another top quality game of darts, possibly the best of round three as Gary Anderson nearly produced this year’s first nine-dart finish. Jermaine Wattimena pushed the game all the way to a tie break, with Anderson missing match darts which nearly came back to bite him, but the Flying Scotsman never went behind, hit 14 180s, and secured the win.
The ‘Flying Scotsman’ steamed into the first leg with an opening visit of 171 and a 12-dart leg. Wattimena had the crowd on their feet with six perfect darts before the seventh strayed into the a single section, activating the customary ‘booing’ from the crowd.
The Dutchman returned from the break refreshed, and cruised his way to win a dominant set 3-0 to hold his throw. Anderson then followed suit to go 2-1 up in sets.
A 124 checkout, with a bullseye finish from Anderson in set four was enough for a break of set, as Wattimenta was punished for missing doubles. Anderson was 64% on doubles at this stage but it was reduced to 34% by the end of the match and signalled a turning point for his finishing.
Wattimena broke his opponent’s throw to go two nil up in a must-win fifth set. However, the two time World Champion continued to impress as he won two straight legs, showing his form of old but after three missed match darts, the Dutchman took advantage to stay in the game.
Anderson continued to rue missed opportunities as he had two visits to break throw. Another missed match dart for Anderson saw Wattimena take the match all the way to the final set.
With the opening throw in the final set, it was Anderson’s turn to throw six perfect darts to set up leg three. He returned with a maximum score to keep the pressure on the Dutchman but Wattimena wasn’t worried, and checked out a 124, just as ‘The Flying Scotsman’ did earlier in the match.
Neither player would budge as the game had to be won by two clear legs. Even after EIGHT perfect darts, Anderson had to enter the ‘mad house’ to check out double one. He was able to follow this up to win the following leg, and consequently the match, by finally checking out on a match dart.
A potentially mouthwatering fixture awaits Anderson in the round of 16 as he plays the winner of Arno Merk and Michael van Gerwen.
Result: Gary Anderson 4-3 Jermaine Wattimena