Paddy Power World Darts Championship: Queen of the Palace Sherrock to make her grand entrance on day eight
Paddy Power World Darts Championship, start time & TV info
Date Thursday, December 11, 2025, to Saturday, January 3, 2026
Day eight 7pm Wednesday
Venue Alexandra Palace, London
Competition PDC Tour
TV Sky Sports
The elongated first round at the 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship is almost at an end with four more sessions of opening clashes to go.
Two take place on Thursday, when three-time winner Michael van Gerwen is the highest seed to take the Ally Pally stage but may not be the headline act.
That’s because the only female player to win a World Championship match, Queen of the Palace Fallon Sherrock, precedes MvG on the evening bill when she takes on former worlds semi-finalist Dave ‘Chizzy’ Chisnall.
Paddy Power World Darts Championship day eight acca
Callan Rydz to beat Patrik Kovacs
Ryan Joyce to beat Owen Bates
Mike de Decker to beat David Munyua 3-0
Jermaine Wattimena to beat Dominik Grullich
Price guide 11-10
Paddy Power World Darts Championship day eight predictions
Best bets
Alexis Toylo +1.5 sets vs Krzysztof Ratajski
2pts 17-10 BoyleSports
Fallon Sherrock over 2.5 180s vs Dave Chisnall
2pts 6-5 Coral, Ladbrokes
Alexis could toy with familiar foe
Alexis Toylo has been handed the chance to avenge Ally Pally angst at the hands of Krzysztof Ratajski when the two men meet again in a first-round shootout at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Just under 12 months ago Toylo and Ratajski clashed in a second-round duel. It was a captivating affair and both men averaged in the mid-90s but the Polish Eagle held his nerve for a 3-1 win.
Toylo had played well just a couple of days after whitewashing Richard Veenstra in his opener and the Asian top-ranked player has to feel bullish about taking on Ratajski again over the shortest possible format.
On a day when the seven favourites look to have the measure of the outsiders in the first seven contests, the last game of the night could certainly be a far closer call.
Ratajski is rock solid. He is a former World Matchplay semi-finalist and this year has reached the semis at the German Darts Championship and won on the floor, an eighth Players Championship triumph in seven years.
He has his limits in terms of averages and checkout percentage but rarely deviates from them. We can expect a decent showing from a player who very rarely flops.
But Cool Cat needn’t be over-awed. Toylo is a five-time winner on the uber-competitive Asian Tour in 2025, the Asian Championship runner-up and on one of those fleeting visits to the UK shocked Stephen Bunting in a group game at last month’s Grand Slam.
Toylo is probably worth a punt at 4-1 but at the very least is worth backing to cover a 1.5-set handicap at 9-5.
History-maker Sherrock to give Chizzy trouble
There are five women at this year’s worlds and the most celebrated of them, Fallon Sherrock, is in action in the evening session.
She has seen Lisa Ashton and Noa-Lynn van Leuven unsurprisingly get chinned while Gemma Hayter and the gifted Beau Greaves get to have a go on Friday.
Sherrock, of course, is part of Ally Pally history as the first – and so far only – female player to win a game on that stage. And she was so pleased with herself she did it twice, adding the scalp of a bemused Mensur Suljovic to that of the gracious Ted Evetts in 2020.
Since then she has suffered four first-round exits but is back to close to her best in 2025 and will fancy her chances – with the crowd’s support – of testing Dave Chisnall.
Very little rattles Chizzy but his stage performances over recent months have hardly inspired awe and Sherrock, celebrating some positive health news, can take him on a ride.
And the longer it goes the more maximums she hits. She’s pegged two nine-darters against men for heaven’s sake, so over 2.5 180s ought to be bread and butter for someone with a happy knack of grouping darts.
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Paddy Power World Darts Championship 2026 FAQs
When is the 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship?
The 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship will take place from Thursday December 11, 2025, to Saturday, January 3, 2026.
Where is the 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship being held?
The event will be held at Alexandra Palace in London.
Who is the favourite to win the 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship?
2025 champion Luke Littler is the 10-11 favourite to retain his title.
Read more from our experts:
WATCH NOW: 2026 World Darts Championship Preview | Darts Tips and Predictions | Best Bets | Steve Palmer
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All you need to know about the Paddy Power World Darts Championship
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