The second round begins Tuesday, meaning it's time to examine the matchups.
The second round of the 2025 World Matchplay of Darts consists of eight thrilling games to be played over Tuesday and Wednesday.
Some of the big names, such as Luke Humphries and Nathan Aspinall, have been eliminated, opening up opportunities for other players to capitalize on the opportunity ahead of them.
2025 World Matchplay of Darts second round predictions
Here are my predictions for the second round.
MORE: 2025 World Matchplay of Darts: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained
Gian van Veen vs. Danny Noppert
Winner: Gian van Veen, 11-7
Gian is coming off a thrilling upset against Luke Humphries, and if he can stay composed, he should be able to ride the momentum from his win on Saturday.
Noppert himself had a dominating win on Saturday, too, so I think this game will be close, but I believe van Veen the edgewill pull away at the end, in what should be an entertaining game to open the second round.
MORE: Watch: Gian van Veen knocks out reigning World Matchplay of Darts champion Luke Humphries
Wessel Nijman vs. James Wade
Winner: James Wade, 11-7
Typically, I like to pick Nijman, but Wade showed Saturday that he can still play near peak form.
I'm not sure Nijman has it in him yet to pick up another big win, but it is very possible.
If Wade can replicate the performance from Saturday's win against Cullen, he should be able to beat Nijman by a few legs.
MORE: Underdogs with the best chance of going far at the 2025 World Matchplay of Darts
Stephen Bunting vs. Gary Anderson
Winner: Stephen Bunting, 11-8
Neither player came out flying in their first-round game, but produced enough to get the job done.
I think both players have another level they can reach than what we saw this weekend, so this has the potential to be a close game that is neck-and-neck throughout the match.
Jonny Clayton vs. Mike De Decker
Winner: Jonny Clayton, 11-7
Clayton looked dangerous in his win over Schindler in the first round.
Clayton seems to play the best when he's against an opponent who is pushing him the entire way.
De Decker had a period where he was flat for a couple of months, but he played very well against Dave Chisnall in the first round.
Clayton is hungry for a title, after being the runner-up a couple of years ago, so that should give him enough fuel to get a win over De Decker.
Luke Littler vs. Jermaine Wattimena
Winner: Luke Littler, 11-4
When in doubt, pick Littler. Wattimena got past Peter Wright in round one, but he'll need to play a lot better to get past Littler in the second round.
Littler had one of the best first-round performances in World Matchplay history, and his demeanor suggests he wants to follow that game with another stellar performance against Wattimena.
Littler has a 4-0 career record against Wattimena, including a 10-4 win at the 2025 UK Open, and a 16-2 win at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts.
MORE: Watch: Luke Littler averages 109 in win against Ryan Searle at 2025 World Matchplay of Darts
Andrew Gilding vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
Winner: Dirk van Duijvenbode, 11-9
Both players came away with wins in very close first-round upsets.
Andrew Gilding can move up several spots on the Main OoM with a win, but I have Dirk getting the win in a very close game over Gilding.
It'll be an interesting game considering both players have very different personalities and play styles, but it should make for an entertaining clash.
Michael van Gerwen vs. Josh Rock
Winner: Josh Rock, 13-11
This is a tough pick, as two explosive players are set to play one another.
Rock had an incredible game against Ross Smith on Monday, averaging 104.32. MVG, on the other hand, was not as impressive, averaging just 91.84.
He let van Barneveld stay in the game, and it could have been an early exit for MVG against any other opponent.
MVG should be able to play better against Rock, but with how hot Rock has been recently, it's hard not to take him even if MVG has a bounce-back performance.
MORE: Watch: Josh Rock pins nine-dart finish at Players Championship 20
Chris Dobey vs. Gerwyn Price
Winner: Gerwyn Price, 11-9
The games are going to be close as the tournament progresses, as this will be another tight one.
Dobey did enough to beat Ricardo Pietreczko in the first round, but still has more of his game to unlock.
Price looked unstoppable on the doubles against Gurney, and is playing with firepower over the past couple of months that we haven't seen from him in a while.
The scary part for Dobey is that Price can play even better than he did against Gurney, but Dobey should still be able to hang around in a great game on Wednesday.
MORE DARTS ARTICLES:
- 2025 World Matchplay of Darts Day 3 final results, scores, schedule and bracket: van Gerwen beats van Barneveld in potential last Matchplay clash
- 2025 World Matchplay of Darts Day 2 final results, scores, schedule and bracket: Luke Littler shines on Day 2, picks up first career win at Matchplay
- Phil Taylor has unbreakable leads in these World Matchplay of Darts stats
- Five darts players who NEED to perform well at 2025 World Matchplay
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