Overview
- World No. 1 Luke Littler edged Mike De Decker 3-2 after the Belgian missed a match dart, falling just short of a nine-darter before booking a last‑16 tie with Ross Smith.
- Defending champion Luke Humphries averaged 104.13 and beat Dave Chisnall 3-1 to advance to a meeting with Luke Woodhouse, who posted a 108.64 in a straight‑sets win over Martin Schindler.
- Five‑time champion Michael van Gerwen exited 3-1 to Damon Heta on opening night, with Heta now facing Chris Dobey in the last 16.
- Saturday’s round two features Jonny Clayton vs Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen vs Nathan Aspinall, Gary Anderson vs James Wade, and Rob Cross vs Josh Rock, with all matches best of seven sets (best of three legs per set).
- The PDC‑ranked major at Arena MK runs Jan 29–Feb 1 with a £100,000 winner’s prize, and the short‑set structure continues to reward sharp finishing and punish slow starts.