Both of these players were absolutely sensational in their first round matches, particularly Gary Anderson who didn’t give Ryan Joyce a chance really as he blitzed his opponent with a 10-2 victory and 109.96 average.

However, despite this incredibly impressive display from the Scot, I'm leaning towards Clayton in this one - who battled past a very capable Damon Heta in Round 1 with his most notable stat being 10 from 16 on the doubles (62.5%).

I’ve been really impressed with how Clayton has kept things together on the big stage this year. He reached finals night of the Premier League, and led the table for most of the campaign, and I think that big stage familiarity will be key in what could be a tight game.

It’s worth noting that Anderson has only played around 50 games this year. By his own admission, he never knows what version of Anderson will turn up as he’s quite relaxed about darts at the moment while Clayton looks much more likely to produce his best display.

Michael Van Gerwen survived a real scare against a familiar opponent in Andrew Gilding in Round 1, but did not look convincing at all in that victory - allowing Gilding to be competitive with an average of just 88.54.

Van Gerwen eventually pulled away at the end of the game but the early exchanges were shaky, and Van Duijvenbode will be able to match his scoring a lot more closely than Gilding was capable of.

Dirk edged out a very long contest against Chris Dobey in Round 1, coming away a 13-11 winner after hitting 5 180s in victory. He’s so likely on that treble 20 bed, hitting 46 scores of 100+ in that victory over Dobey.

These two played in a first to 10 format in the UK open last year, which Van Gerwen won 10-8 but notably saw Van Duijvenbode hit 12+ 180s and 36 scores of 100+, showing how he can really come to life when it comes to maximum hitting.

This should be the game of the night, and possibly the best game of the tournament so far as Littler and Aspinall face off after both seriously impressing in their Round 1 matches.

Niko Springer did well to live with Littler in the early stages of their Round 1 clash, with the score being 5-5 at one point before Littler reeled off five of the last six legs with ease, coming away with a 109.53 average and 7+ 180s.

Aspinall was just as impressive in dispatching his good friend in Joe Cullen, also averaging in excess of 100.00 with 9+ 180s helping him get to this tally.

I can’t see how this game doesn’t produce at least 12 180s, both players are in excellent form and enjoy playing each other due to their relationship off the oche and their rhythm of play suiting the other arrowsmith.

These two faced off in the Players Championship Finals last year, with Littler coming away an 11-8 winner on that occasion and the pair combining for 13+ 180s.

I’m a little surprised that Josh Rock is ranked as the slight underdog for this game.

He wasn’t that impressive in his Round 1 victory, but still managed to see off Luke Woodhouse which shouldn’t be sneered at - Woody entered the tournament as the top ranked player on the floor in 2026, so Rock did well to find a way past him.

Bunting had to survive a real scare against Niels Zonneveld to claim his first ever victory on the Winter Garden stage. He edged out a 13-12 victory, but looked really nervous at times which is highlighted by the 23 darts he missed at double.

Rock reached the semi finals of the World Matchplay last year, losing out in an epic to Luke Littler. He’s a lot more comfortable on the big stage than he used to be and I think he can hold his nerve better than Bunting in this one.