Damon Heta took advantage of a poor performance from Michael van Gerwen to knock the Dutchman out of the 2026 Winmau World Masters.

The Australian, the highest ranked player not to be a seed, stunned the five time Masters champion to win 3-1 and set up a meeting in round two with Chris Dobey.

MvG, who won the Bahrain Darts Masters and reached the final in Saudi Arabia last week, was the only seeded player not to win on day one of the 2026 Winmau World Masters, as the first ranking event of the year got underway in Milton Keynes on a night of high quality.

Poor doubling from MvG gives Heta victory, Dobey cruises through

Both struggled for consistency throughout the game, but van Gerwen ended the game just 4/17 on the doubles, whereas Heta finished 7/11 on the outer ring.

The Heat won the opening set 2-0 with a 124 checkout, but MvG levelled up the match in the deciding leg of the second set, despite missing seven darts at a double.

Heta missed a dart himself to take a 2-0 lead, before both held in the first two legs of the third. The big moment in the match came in the deciding leg of the third, as MvG missed double 13 to go in front. The Heat, left on 118 pinged tops for a 15 dart hold of throw, letting out a huge roar as he found the double.

The fourth set also went to a decider, where van Gerwen missed two darts to force a fifth set. Heta then found another ton plus outshot, taking out 101 to move into round two and send the Dutchman home.

Heta will take on Chris Dobey in round two, after Hollywood produced a comfortable straight sets win against Jermaine Wattimena in the opening game of the night. The 2023 winner of The Masters hit a 99.4 average and looked in control throughout, winning the match with a 17-dart hold.

Anderson and Wade move into round two at Winmau World Masters

Gary Anderson was made to work for his 3-2 victory over Dutchman Niels Zonneveld, who was one of the eight players to qualify through the Preliminary Rounds yesterday.

Triple Z won the opening set against the darts, before The Flying Scotsman did the same to level at 1-1. Both then held their throw in the next two sets, forcing a decider.

Zonneveld missed tops in the first leg, allowing Anderson to ping a 48 to get a crucial break of throw. 13 darts later, the two time former World Champion pinged double 16 to end an absorbing contest, in which he averaged 101.2.

Anderson will play James Wade in the next round, after he beat another qualifier Madars Razma by the same scoreline with an average of 102.56.

Wade missed tops to take the opening set, as the Latvian pinged double 18 to break and go 1-0 up. 57 darts later though, The Machine was 2-1 in front, as he won four legs on the spin with Razma.

The Lativan stopped the rot in the first leg of the fourth set, and then levelled the match two legs later as he pinged double four to send it to a deciding set. However, he then missed two darts for the opening leg, allowing Wade to break on double 10, before eventually finding double 12 in the next leg to seal the victory.

Price and Clayton set up Welsh derby

Gerwyn Price produced the performance of the opening night at the 2026 Winmau World Masters, as he hit an astonishing 108.51 average in his straight sets win against James Hurrell.

Price won the first set with two breaks of throw, despite Hurrell hitting a ton plus outshot. He then found two 13 dart holds to take the second set, before a 92 outshot to break put him one leg from victory. 13 darts later, it was, as the Welshman found double four to end an excellent performance.

Jonny Clayton will be Price’s opponent in round two, as The Ferret set up a Welsh derby by beating Wessel Nijman 3-1.

The opening two sets were won 2-1 by each player, before Clayton punished three missed darts from Nijman for the first leg of set three, hitting double four for the game’s first break. The Ferret then pinged an astonishing 136 in the next leg to go 2-1 up in sets, before holding his throw twice in the fourth to close out the win as he averaged over 102.

Van Veen wins on Winmau World Masters debut, Aspinall next up

World Darts Championship runner up Gian van Veen continued his excellent form from Alexandra Palace, as he cruised past Ryan Joyce 3-1.

Relentless won the opening set in a deciding leg, after van Veen missed four darts to do so. It did not deter The Giant though, as he then won five legs on the spin. Back to back 17 darters levelled the contest, before he broke the Joyce throw with a 121 checkout in the opening leg of set three, eventually going in front with a 17 dart hold.

Van Veen then hit a 12 dart hold to open up set four, before Joyce stopped the rot with a 13 dart hold of his own. He could not force a fifth set though, as a 14 dart hold from the Dutchman sealed the win on his Winmau World Masters debut.

Nathan Aspinall will face Van Veen in round two, after he defeated Irishman Shane McGuirk by the same scoreline in a similar type of contest.

McGuirk won the opening set in a deciding leg after The Asp missed double five for a 130, countering with a stunning 141 to go in front. That was the last leg the Irishman would win though, as Aspinall reeled off six legs on the spin.

He hit a 108 checkout in the first leg of set two, before an 11 dart break levelled the contest. 31 darts later, he was in front, finding tops to take the third set. The former World Matchplay champion then held in 13 to start set four, before a 90 outshot on double 16 gave him a 12 dart break and ended the match, where he averaged 105.80.

2026 Winmau World Masters Day One Results

Chris Dobey 3-0 Jermaine Wattimena

Gary Anderson 3-2 Niels Zonneveld

James Wade 3-2 Madars Razma

Nathan Aspinall 3-1 Shane McGuirk

Jonny Clayton 3-1 Wessel Nijman

Gerwyn Price 3-0 James Hurrell

Damon Heta 3-1 Michael van Gerwen

Gian van Veen 3-1 Ryan Joyce