Paddy Power World Darts Championship: Greaves and her army of fans should be too much for Gurney to handle
Paddy Power World Darts Championship, start time & TV info
Date Thursday, December 11, 2025, to Saturday, January 3, 2026
Day nine 12.30pm & 7pmFriday
Venue Alexandra Palace, London
Competition PDC Tour
TV Sky Sports
A full Friday of action at Alexandra Palace starts at 12.30pm and Premier League hopeful Josh Rock will be surprised that he has been given an afternoon slot.
The Northern Irishman should make short work of Gemma Hayter in the final match of the first session, but his World Cup partner Daryl Gurney has a much tougher task on his hands in the evening session.
Gurney faces the planet’s premier female arrowsmith, Beau Greaves, in a clash expected on the oche around 8pm. Two-time World Championship semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall will take to the stage after the Gurney-Greaves contest.
Paddy Power World Darts Championship day nine acca
Josh Rock to beat Gemma Hayter 3-0
William O’Connor -1.5 sets v Krzysztof Kciuk
Nathan Aspinall -1.5 sets v Lourence Ilagan
Price guide 13-10
Paddy Power World Darts Championship day nine predictions
Best bets
Beau Greaves to beat Daryl Gurney
3pts 8-11 Hills
William O’Connor to win 3-0
1pt 7-4 Hills
Golden girl ready to dump Daryl
Two women will toe the Ally Pally oche in the Paddy Power World Championship on Friday and one, in particular, has an enormous chance of success.
Beau Greaves can delight her supporters by defeating Daryl Gurney in the highlight of the evening session.
The crowd will emphatically be on the side of Greaves and the Palace hordes could have a huge impact on the match. Gurney is a temperamental character who has been massively unsettled by the behaviour of spectators, as well as opponents, in the past. This contest seems the ultimate test of his mental fortitude.
Gurney is unlikely to get upset by anything Greaves does – she is polite and professional and will not enter into any Gerwyn Price-style histrionics – but Gurney has plenty to fear from the 3,200 oiled-up darts fans who will be letting their hair down on weekend eve.
Greaves is a three-time women’s world champion and an improving 21-year-old who is already clearly good enough to compete on the PDC circuit. She beat Luke Littler in the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship in October.
Greaves beat Stefan Bellmont, Rhys Griffin and Mickey Mansell in the UK Open in February, before leading Luke Humphries 7-5 in a 10-7 defeat. Her A-game is spectacular and she averaged 105.85 against Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts.
Gurney has never got past the quarter-finals in 12 previous World Championship appearances and has lost in rounds one or two on five occasions.
He said he felt like withdrawing from the Grand Slam last month due to homesickness and may not be equipped mentally for this Christmas scrap with a boisterous and often ruthless Ally Pally crowd.
Merciless Magpie can fly through
Prior to the eagerly awaited Greaves-Gurney clash, quietly efficient Irishman William O’Connor will take on Polish journeyman Krzysztof Kciuk, and the Magpie should enjoy a cosy success.
O’Connor has had an excellent Players Championship campaign this year, reaching two semi-finals and producing a nine-dart finish. He made the sixth round of the UK Open, as well as the quarter-finals of the World Cup in June alongside Keane Barry.
Kciuk has never made any progress in the World Championship and lost 3-0 to Connor Scutt in the round one last year. Expect the 45-year-old to suffer another whitewash against an increasingly confident O’Connor.
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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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