The business end of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship 2026 is upon us, as the last 16 starts on night 16 at Alexandra Palace.
MATCH 1: Josh Rock vs Callan Rydz
A highly anticipated contest between two players who seem to like a world championship run, kicked off the evening session in the final match of Round 3. Josh Rock has had a fantastic year but would love to add a major win to his name, however Callan Rydz had found form at the palace as he did last year when he eventually lost to Micahel Van Gerwen.
The Northern Irish World Cup star never had it his own way, as Rydz continuously forced deciding legs. However, he came through the test convincingly winning 4-1, averaging a tick under a ton to face Justin Hood tomorrow. His English opponent has just suffered a family loss but fought courageously, and there was a memorable passage where both players went seven darts into the perfect nine almost immediately after one another.
Result: Josh Rock 4-1 Callan Rydz
MATCH 2: James Hurrell vs Ryan Searle
“Hilbilly” James Hurrell would not have expected to find himself opening the Round of 16 at the Ally Pally but his win over 4th seed Stephen Bunting was a stunning upset and he seemed to be feeling full of confidence. His opponent “Heavy Metal” Ryan Searle has plenty of confidence of his own, as he has been on top form so far, failing to drop a single set in the entire tournament to this point. Ton plus averages galore and a thumping win of German number one, Martin Schindler, had put him in good stead for a deep run.
Searle was able to continue this roll as he whitewashed his opponent averaging over 100 again, reaching the quarterfinal for the first time. Hurrell has had a tournament to remember and hit 6 180s in the match, but Searle’s 20 140s, and 50% on doubles, were too much for him. “Heavy Metal’s” opponent will be the winner of world number five, Johnny Clayton, or debutant Andreas Harryson.
Result: James Hurrell 0-4 Ryan Searle
MATCH 3: Luke Littler vs Rob Cross
We are running out of superlatives to describe the impressive nature of “The Nuke’s” performances, but the defending champion headed into the last 16 off of the back of a ridiculous 107 average in a 4-0 thrashing of Mensur Suljovic. “Voltage” Rob Cross saw off Australian number one Damon Heat by the same scoreline and certainly was Littler’s biggest test of the tournament to date.
The match had a ferocious pace and some spice from a very early stage. The young superstar was clearly agitated from the start and revealed some annoyance at the crowd when interviewed after. Despite this, he still averaged 106.5 and held off a fantastic performance from his fellow former champ. Cross missed a dart to square the game at three all which would have given him the darts in a deciding set but can be very proud of a strong display against Littler after a difficult year.
“The Nuke” takes on the winner of Ratajski and Woodhouse in the next step in his bid to go back-to-back at the Ally Pally.
Result: Luke Littler 4-2 Rob Cross