Charlie Manby’s dream World Championship debut continued as he beat an out-of-sorts Ricky Evans 4-2 at Alexandra Palace to seal his place in the last 16.
Huddersfield bricklayer Manby, 20, is guaranteed a £60,000 pay cheque after overcoming his early struggles on the doubles against Evans and now faces European champion Gian van Veen for a place in the quarter-finals.
It was an even contest until Manby levelled the match at 2-2, with Evans suffering a dramatic loss of form.
Charlie Manby's dream debut continues into Round Four 🍾 pic.twitter.com/QDhh2u89pC
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 29, 2025
Manby, who landed just four of his first 30 double attempts, said: “It was frustrating. I should have taken the first set, simple as that.
“I missed doubles, but at first to four there is a lot of time, so I think I recovered well and got my confidence back.”
Van Veen eased into the last 16 with a 4-1 win against Latvia’s Madars Razma on Sunday and Manby added: “I like Gian, I like the way he plays, quick and young player.
“He’s doing well but so am I. I’m just waiting for my A-game to come. I’ll be here all the time if my A-game comes.”
Doets there it is! 🇳🇱
Kevin Doets produces a staggering late burst to defeat Nathan Aspinall in a deciding-set thriller! pic.twitter.com/WqB8y3geiG
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 29, 2025
World number 40 Kevin Doets produced an upset as he beat 15th seed Nathan Aspinall 4-3 in a thriller to set up a last-16 tie against 2024 world champion Luke Humphries.
Dutchman Doets hit back from behind three times in a see-saw battle before racing to victory in the deciding set and making it six straight wins against Aspinall.
After being pegged back at 2-2, Aspinall produced a 170-finish to snatch the fifth set only to see Doets hit a 164-checkout to level it back up at 3-3 and maintain his heavy scoring to win the decider 3-0.
Justin Hood eased through to the fourth round on his tournament debut by beating Ryan Meikle 4-1, despite not hitting the same heights as in his previous match.
Hood, who averaged 103 when knocking fifth seed Danny Noppert out in round two, opened up a 3-0 lead before Meikle responded with 146 and 147-finishes to take the fourth set.
A last-16 tie against Josh Rock or Callan Rydz awaits Hood, who averaged 94.68 compared to Meikle’s 95.40 and landed just 13 of his 40 attempts at doubles.