2018 PDC World Champion Rob Cross has crashed out of the World Championship at the first hurdle to fellow stablemate Scott Williams 3-1.

Both players struggled to play at the standard both are capable of. The first two sets were evenly shared but went the distance, yet both players never really played at the spellbinding ability they can produce. Cross threw four 180s en route to sealing the opening set but averaged 88 overall.

Williams dug in deep to win three in a row, but not without a fight from Cross. Shaggy held his nerve to win two deciding legs and two sets as both players struggled on the oche, considering their close affiliation.

Evening Round-Up

Ricardo Pietreczko produced a convincing 3-1 set victory over the in-form Dutch star Gian van Veen. The German starlet averaged less than his opponent, but a sublime outer-ring display in which he checked out 55.56% of his doubles told the story. Van Veen secured the only set he won with a 100% checkout rate, but he only won one other leg and had a final success rate of 23.53% on the doubles.

Pietreczko’s fellow countryman Florian Hempel couldn’t make it two wins for Germany in two games, as he was defeated in a high-quality five-set affair with Daryl Gurney. Both players hit ten total 180’s and won ten legs a piece, but only one set went to a final leg decider. The Northern Irishman recovered from 2-1 down to win the last two sets and posted a final average of 98.31 compared to Hempel’s 96.44.

In the penultimate game between Dave Chisnall and Ricky Evans, both players produced one of the tournament games. There was tension, drama and a shocking 139 checkout miscount from Chisnall at a crucial time, which saw him lose the match in the next leg. After five sets of fantastic tungsten, the game went to the final leg, where both players averaged 94.

Afternoon Round-Up

The afternoon session did not bring any significant surprises, as all four seeds progressed through and will return after the Christmas break.

The first affair between Krzysztof Ratajski and Alexis Toylo was the most intriguing because the Polish star’s 3-1 set victory didn’t tell the whole story. Ratajski won eleven legs to Toylo’s seven, but overall, both displayed superb finishing on the outer ring and impressive scoring. Two sets went to the final leg, but while the Japanese star narrowly missed out on a surprise win, he will be a name to watch for in future editions.

The second game consisting of UK Open winner Andrew Gidling and recent Grand Slam finalist Martin Lukeman was next, with the former prevailing 3-1 in sets. He kicked the game off to the best possible start as he whitewashed Lukeman to claim the first set before Lukeman answered similarly in the second. Gilding recovered from two legs down in set three to establish the lead once more before holding on to progress.

Josh Rock breezed through to book his place in round three, although he didn’t play to his full capabilities. He took on debutant Rhys Griffin and won the match 9-2 in legs in a whitewash 3-0 set victory, but Rock’s 87 average to Griffin’s 86 average showed it was a closer game than the final scoreline suggested.

The final game between Jonny Clayton and Mickey Mansell went down to the final leg in the final set. Mansell gave it everything despite being below second-best throughout. He pulled off back-to-back 136 and 154 checkouts, but the number seven seed Clayton dug in deep to secure a last-leg deciding set win.

2025 Paddy Power World Darts Championship Day Nine Results

Afternoon Session

Krzysztof Ratajski 3-1 Alexis Toylo (R2)

Andrew Gilding 3-1 Martin Lukeman (R2)

Josh Rock 3-0 Rhys Griffin (R2)

Jonny Clayton 3-1 Mickey Mansell (R2)

Evening Session

Gian van Veen 1-3 Ricardo Pietreczko (R2)

Daryl Gurney 3-2 Florian Hempel (R2)

Dave Chisnall 2-3 Ricky Evans (R2)

Rob Cross 1-3 Scott Williams (R2)