The 2026 Paddy Power World Championship tore open its festive wrapping and delivered a proper Christmas cracker, as debutant Justin Hood authored a night of theatre, nerve and thunder by edging past the highest seed to fall so far, Danny Noppert, in a contest already chiselled into the Ally Pally memory vaults.
For a long time our resident coach – AIM180 – has been saying that the playing field is getting more and more level:
“Events such as the MODUS Super League and European Tour etc, give players a huge amount more practice and experience of the biggest games with lights, cameras and audiences some of these guys have thrown darts for £25,000 and / or qualification for the biggest events.
They are under less pressure and are simply more fearless and better prepared to give their very best. Add in the 128 man field changing the dynamic of the draw and it’s been game on all over the place…”
Last night , as if to prove coach’s point, on one side stood proven pedigree. A former UK Open champion. World number six. A man who has spent the past year loitering in the semi-final stage of major after major. The Freeze. Ice in the veins and numbers to match. Opposite him, a first-time World Championship entrant from England, Justin Hood, stepping onto the grandest stage wearing a hat adorned with tiny penguins – an image that screamed novelty, innocence, vulnerability. David had arrived awaiting his Goliath.
If there is any sport and arena on earth primed to witness such rebellion, it is darts at Alexandra Palace in December.
Crucially, this was not a tale of a giant stumbling. Noppert did not underperform. Far from it. What unfolded was two men scaling heights simultaneously, trading thunderous blows in what was comfortably the finest match of the tournament to date. From the opening exchanges, both arrowsmiths peppered the treble twenty with metronomic regularity. The quality was immediate. The intent unmistakable. Yet it was Hood who struck first blood. And second.
As Noppert’s doubling briefly deserted him, the Somerset debutant capitalised without mercy, surging into a stunning two-set lead and sending shockwaves rippling through the Palace galleries. The crowd sensed it. Something was happening. Noppert, seasoned and unflappable, corrected course. The doubles were recalibrated. The response emphatic. Two blistering sets followed, both men sustaining ferocious scoring power as parity was restored. Of course it was going the distance. It could not end any other way. And this decider… this was art.
Hood – “Happy Feet” by moniker, fearless by nature – broke first to lead 2–1, then stood on the brink, agonisingly wiring the bull on a 128 checkout as his first match dart fluttered away. Every time Hood edged close to destiny, Noppert produced a masterclass in survival, none more outrageous than a 144 checkout plucked from the ether like a magician’s final trick. Ten incandescent legs passed. Lungs burned. Hands shook. History hovered.
In the final act, Hood stepped up first. A timely maximum. Then a commanding 140. Suddenly a chance at 124 to end it all. It didn’t go. But Noppert, stranded on 164, was vulnerable. Hood returned. Sixty-six dispatched. Game over. Bedlam. The biggest win of Justin Hood’s darting life sealed not with luck, but with courage. Both men averaged north of the ton. Neither deserved defeat. Yet sport is cruel, and Ally Pally demands a victor. This was one for the archives. Next, it’s Ryan Meikle after Christmas for a place in the last 16 – and both would have fancied their chances.
Elsewhere, the star-studded rest of the card shined brightly, though the drama dialled back slightly. Two-time World Champion Gary Anderson continued his audacious hunt for a hat-trick, producing a breath-taking display to overcome the impressive Connor Scutt. Scutt struck first, taking the opening set with confidence, but then the Flying Scotsman unfurled his full repertoire – silky, savage, sublime. At 55, Anderson sent a message loud and clear: do not forget me. Somerset smiled again. Awaiting him next is Jermaine Wattimena, somewhat a flying Dutchman these days.
Not to be overshadowed, Michael van Gerwen strode onto the stage and handled William O’Connor with authoritative calm. A high-quality opening set went the distance, MVG edging it before capitalising on a brief lull from the Magpie to double his lead. O’Connor clawed one back, but when Van Gerwen decided enough was enough, the outcome was inevitable. A strong, ton-plus display sets up a round-three meeting with German qualifier Arno Merk. That was meant to be Peter Wright if the seeing had of gone to plan. Judging by Van Gerwen’s post match comments calling for Snakebite to retire, he may well have preferred to meet the Scot.
And to draw the curtain before Christmas, Josh Rock reminded everyone why his name is whispered reverently in trophy conversations. A dominant straight-sets dismissal of Joe Comito, clinical and uncompromising. The Australian exits with pride intact, but Rock barely blinked. Next up: Callan Rydz. And that, by any measure, promises fireworks.
The darts now pause. But the echoes of this night will linger long into Christmas – because this was Alexandra Palace at its incandescent, merciless best.
TUESDAY 23rd DECEMBER – Tuesday Evening Session
Danny Noppert 2-3 Justin Hood
Gary Anderson 3-1 Connor Scutt
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 William O’Connor
Josh Rock 3-0 Joe Comito
—–ENDS—–
Image: PDC
