European champion Gian van Veen has booked a place in the second round of the PDC World Championships, but 12th seed Ross Smith crashes out in the first round.
Expectations are high for Van Veen following his success in 2025, and there will be a sigh of relief after his 3-1 win over Spain’s Cristo Reyes after failing at the first level on each of his two previous visits to Alexandra Palace.
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The Dutch No. 10 seed and two-time World Youth Champion, despite not being at his best, fought hard to win in the first set and then took a 2-0 lead in the second set with an average of 107 points.
After winning the first round at 167, Reyes fought back in the third and got a break in the fourth, but Van Veen showed grit and came back to secure his first win of the tournament.
“Finally the line has been crossed,” the 23-year-old, who averages 98.91, told Sky Sports.
“Today, walking on this stage, you feel like you’re 16 again – I was so nervous! But when the first dart came in, I thought ‘OK, you belong here’.”
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While van Veen could be ready for the second round, Smith is heading home after losing 3-2 to 50-year-old Swedish rookie Andreas Harrison.
Smith missed six match darts in the fourth set and paid the price as Harrison fought hard to win the decider 1-1 over three legs.
Also in the evening game, England’s Ricky Evans defeated Hong Kong’s Leung Man Lok 3-0, and Australia’s 16th seed Damon Hertha defeated Ireland’s Steve Lennon 3-1.
Former champion Kroos crosses
Rob Cross beats Phil Taylor in final to win 2018 World Darts Championship [Getty Images]
Former champion Rob Cross comfortably advanced to the second round of the PDC World Championship with an easy 3-0 win over Norway’s Cor Dekker in the afternoon session.
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The Briton, who triumphed on debut at Alexandria Palace in 2018, has had a difficult year, falling to 17th in the world rankings, but was always in control in the first round.
In the first set, Cross’ average score was only close to 100 points, but in the second set, Cross’ performance dropped, but he still won with a score of one loss in two rounds.
Dekker struggled in the doubles on his debut in the tournament, but Cross showed composure on the outside, especially in the first two sets, and ended the match in style, catching the “big fish” – 170 points.
His average score is 90.84 and his checkout success rate is 47.4%.
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“I was a bit impatient today but I’ve been doing that all week to get that done,” Kroos told Sky Sports.
“I’m really proud of myself and there’s a lot more to it. I think I’ll do better in the next game – I feel like I’m back. If I play my best, I’ll definitely have a chance.”
Cross will face Ian White in the next round, who withstood Mervyn King’s counterattack and won 3-2.
Earlier in the tournament, 20th seed Ryan Sale defeated Dutchman Chris Randleman 3-0, with the Englishman hitting five 180s in the process.
Meanwhile, in the first match of the second day, Dutchman Niels Zonneveld defeated New Zealander Haupai Puha 3-0.
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Friday’s results
Afternoon show
Niels Zonneveld 3-0 Haupai Puha
Ian White 3-2 Mervyn King
Ryan Sale(20) 3-0 Chris Randleman
Rob Cross (17) 3-0 Ko Decker
evening meeting
Ross Smith (12) 2-3 Andreas Harrison
Ricky Evans 3-0 Liang Wenle
Gian van Veen (10) 3-1 Cristo Reyes
Damon Hertha (16) 3-1 Steve Lennon
Saturday timetable
Afternoon session (from 12:30 GMT)
Mario van den Bogaard v David Davies
Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse(25) v Boris Kelmar
Gary Anderson(14) v Adam Hunt
Evening session (from 19:00 GMT)
Jeffrey DeGraff v Paul Lin
Wessel Niemann(31) v Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphreys(2) v Ted Avitz
Gabrielle Clemens v Alex Spellman