Van Veen advances but Smith suffers shock exit

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Image caption,

Gian van Veen won his first major PDC title at the European Championship in October

Published

12 December 2025

European champion Gian van Veen has booked his place in the second round of the PDC World Championship but 12th seed Ross Smith suffered a shock first-round exit.

Expectations are high for Van Veen after a successful 2025 and, after falling at the first hurdle in his two previous visits to Alexandra Palace, there will have been an element of relief following his 3-1 win over Spain’s Cristo Reyes.

The Dutch 10th seed, a two-time world youth champion, battled to victory in the first set despite being short of his best before stepping it up in the second, averaging 107, to go 2-0 up.

Reyes hit back in the third after taking out 167 to win the first leg and earned a break in the fourth, only for Van Veen to show his grit and come back to secure his first win at the tournament.

"Finally across that line," the 23-year-old, who averaged 98.91, told Sky Sports.

"Today, walking on this stage, you feel like a 16-year-old again - I was so nervous! But as soon as the first darts went in, I was like ‘OK, you belong here’."

But while Van Veen can prepare for round two, Smith is heading home after a 3-2 loss to 50-year-old debutant Andreas Harrysson of Sweden.

Smith missed six match darts in the fourth set and was made to pay as Harryson pressed on to win the deciding set by three legs to one.

Also in the evening session, England’s Ricky Evans beat Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung 3-0 and Australian 16th seed Damon Heta earned a 3-1 win over Ireland’s Steve Lennon.

Former champion Cross cruises through

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Rob Cross beat Phil Taylor in the final to win the 2018 World Darts Championship

Former champion Rob Cross is safely through to the second round of the PDC World Championship after a comfortable 3-0 win over Norway’s Cor Dekker in the afternoon session.

The Englishman, who triumphed on his debut at Alexander Palace in 2018, has endured a difficult year and dropped to 17th in the world rankings but was in control throughout his first round match.

After averaging just shy of 100 in racing to victory in the first set, Cross dropped off in the second but still came through to win from two legs to one down.

Dekker struggled on the doubles on his debut at the tournament but Cross was clinical on the outer ring, particularly in the opening two sets, and finished the match in style, reeling in the ‘big fish’ - a 170 checkout.

He ended with an average of 90.84 and a checkout success rate of 47.4%.

"I was a bit edgy today but to finish with that one, I’ve been doing that all week," Cross told Sky Sports.

"I’m really proud of myself and there’s a lot more in the tank yet. I think I’ll be better in the next game - I feel like I’m back. If I play my best stuff, I’ve definitely got a chance."

Cross will play Ian White, who held off a fightback from Mervyn King to win 3-2, in the next round.

Earlier in the session, 20th seed Ryan Searle raced to a 3-0 win over Chris Landman of the Netherlands, the Englishman hitting five 180s in the process.

Meanwhile, the first match of day two saw Dutchman Niels Zonneveld beat New Zealand’s Haupai Puha 3-0.

Friday’s results

Afternoon session

Niels Zonneveld 3-0 Haupai Puha

Ian White 3-2 Mervyn King

Ryan Searle (20) 3-0 Chris Landman

Rob Cross (17) 3-0 Cor Dekker

Evening session

Ross Smith (12) 2-3 Andreas Harrysson

Ricky Evans 3-0 Man Lok Leung

Gian van Veen (10) 3-1 Cristo Reyes

Damon Heta (16) 3-1 Steve Lennon

Saturday’s schedule

Afternoon session (from 12:30 GMT)

Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies

Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree

Luke Woodhouse (25) v Boris Krcmar

Gary Anderson (14) v Adam Hunt

Evening session (from 19:00 GMT)

Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim

Wessel Nijman (31) v Karel Sedlacek

Luke Humphries (2) v Ted Evetts

Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman