Wesley Plaisier delivered a huge upset as he dumped out Gerwyn Price in straight sets on Sunday at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Day Eleven of the £5m event saw another blockbuster double-session of round two action, as Plaisier stunned ninth seed and former World Champion Price with a whitewash win.
Plaisier took the opening set before storming to the second, hitting six of his ten double attempts in the process to leave Price staring down the barrel of defeat.
The Dutchman, who has never gone beyond round two at the World Championship, then survived two set darts from Price in the deciding leg of the third set, before pinning double ten to produce one of the biggest shocks of the tournament so far.
“This is by far my biggest win ever,” said Plaisier, who will face Krzysztof Ratajski in round three.
“I couldn’t imagine beating him, especially not 3-0. I was hoping I could give him a good match and take one or two sets.
“I had a lot of nerves throwing for the match, I was shaking. In the end, he missed two darts and I was able to take it.
“The best wins are when you don’t expect them. I’m over the moon, that’s the only thing I can say.”
Littler ensured he did not suffer the same fate as Price, after delivering another whitewash triumph against David Davies to continue his title defence.
The world number one began in uncharacteristically slow fashion, averaging under 90 in the opening set and surviving five set darts from Davies before cleaning up a set-deciding leg.
However, Littler then returned to his trademark level, taking out a 145 checkout and eventually boosting his average to over 97 in taking the next two sets to complete the win.
“It’s always a good feeling to win and to win 3-0 is that much sweeter,” said Littler, who will face Mensur Suljovic in round three.
“I saw him walk off and thought he was out of his stride - I had to punish him and get that first set won.”
“I watched all of the Gezzy game, he didn’t play well and Wesley did. I could have met him in the quarter-finals, but you can only beat what’s in front of you.
“I’ve always watched darts and Mensur has been on tour for quite some years - he messaged me before the tournament and said see you in round three!”
Rob Cross secured his spot in round three after his 3-1 triumph against veteran Ian White.
The game began finely poised with White hitting a stunning 167 checkout before levelling the game at one set apiece, but the former World Champion prevailed after taking out 92 in a set-deciding leg to claim victory.
“I didn’t play the way I wanted to but I’m very grateful to be sitting here with the job done,” admitted Cross, who faces Damon Heta in round three.
“The World Championship is pinnacle of the game, you need to get up for it.
“I’ve made a living from hitting clutch checkouts, I can be one of the best finishers in the game under pressure.
“It’s nice to win and not be at your best, because if I play my best, I don’t think I worry about anyone.”
Cross’ round three opponent Heta battled to a 3-2 triumph against a persistent Stefan Bellmont.
The Australian number one lost the opening set with an average shy of 74 but rallied, hitting 55% of his doubles to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to see out the win.
Littler’s round three opponent Suljovic came out on top against Joe Cullen 3-1 in a scrappy and tense affair.
The Austrian veteran initially trailed 1-0, but won three consecutive sets to confirm his progression to the last 32 for the ninth occasion in his career.
Martin Schindler produced a clinical performance to see off Keane Barry in straight sets and set up an intriguing round three tie with Ryan Searle.
Despite every set going to a deciding-leg and Barry sat on a finish on all three occasions, the German number one took out finishes of 20, 118 and 76 in the deciders to complete an impressive whitewash win.
Ratajski defeated Ryan Joyce 3-1 to make round three for an impressive sixth time across nine appearances at the World Championship.
The Polish number one soared into a 2-0 lead with a near-ton average, and despite Joyce claiming a consolation set, closed the game out with a 13-darter.
Luke Woodhouse cruised through to round three with a comfortable whitewash win over Max Hopp.
Woodhouse won the first six legs on the spin to take a firm grip of the match and conceded just a sole leg in the final set, confirming a clash against Andrew Gilding in the next round.
The festive tungsten festival continues on Day Twelve at Alexandra Palace, as 2023/24 World Champion Luke Humphries headlines Monday’s double session as he faces Singaporean veteran Paul Lim.
Former World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall takes on Leonard Gates in a repeat of their round two clash last year, and freshly-anointed Alexandra Palace icon David Munyua faces Kevin Doets.
The 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
Click here for match stats & results.
2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Sunday December 21
Afternoon Session
Round Two x4
Krzysztof Ratajski 3-1 Ryan Joyce (3-1, 3-1, 0-3, 3-0)
Mensur Suljovic 3-1 Joe Cullen (0-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Max Hopp (3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
Rob Cross 3-1 Ian White (3-1, 0-3, 3-1, 3-2)
Evening Session
Round Two x4
Martin Schindler 3-0 Keane Barry (3-2, 3-2, 3-2)
Wesley Plaisier 3-0 Gerwyn Price (3-1, 3-1, 3-2)
Luke Littler 3-0 David Davies (3-2, 3-1, 3-1)
Damon Heta 3-2 Stefan Bellmont (1-3, 3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Monday December 22
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Darren Beveridge v Madars Razma
Wessel Nijman v Gabriel Clemens
David Munyua v Kevin Doets
James Wade v Ricky Evans
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Gian Van Veen v Alan Soutar
Nathan Aspinall v Leonard Gates
Luke Humphries v Paul Lim
Charlie Manby v Adam Sevada
Best of Five Sets