Gerwyn Price, the ninth seed and 2021 PDC World Champion, began his 2026 PDC World Darts Championship campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over Adam Gawlas at Alexandra Palace. The 40-year-old Welshman lost just two of the 11 legs played, averaging 96.44 and hitting six 180s, sending a strong message that he is a contender to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy once again.

Price Dominates in First Round

Czech thrower Gawlas, a former UK Open semi-finalist, was heavily outscored throughout the match and managed only three darts at doubles. Reflecting on his performance, Price said:

“I played pretty decent apart from the two legs I gave away. I’ll need to improve to win this tournament, but for a first-round game, that was OK.”

His commanding display underscores Price’s status as one of the tournament favourites, having enjoyed a consistent year with deep runs in major events.

Other First-Round Highlights

The opening rounds also saw several other seeded players advance:

• Danny Noppert, the sixth seed, defeated Jurjen van der Velde 3-1 and will face England debutant Justin Hood, who averaged 99.59 in a 3-0 win over Nick Kenny.
• Chris Dobey beat China’s Xiaochen Zong 3-1, setting up a clash with former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
• Alan Soutar survived a tense 3-2 battle against Finnish debutant Teemu Harju, missing 15 match darts before clinching a 45 checkout in sudden death. Soutar will face European Championship winner Gian van Veen in round two.
• Scott Williams, semi-finalist in 2024, beat Paolo Nebrida 3-0, hitting nine of 14 attempts at doubles.
• Ricardo Pietreczko defeated former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa 3-1, while Niko Springer lost 1-3 to Australia’s Joe Comito.

Wasp Incidents and Crowd Drama

Tuesday also saw unusual interruptions, including Jurjen van der Velde attempting to ward off Alexandra Palace wasps with bug spray during his match, highlighting the quirky challenges players face during the championship.

Wednesday’s Opening Matches

The tournament resumes Wednesday at 19:00 GMT with four first-round ties, including appearances from five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and multiple major winner James Wade. Scheduled matches include:

• Matt Campbell vs Adam Sevada
• Raymond van Barneveld vs Stefan Bellmont
• James Wade vs Ryusei Azemoto
• Martin Schindler vs Stephen Burton