The highlight of the night in Blackpool: Gian van Veen held his ground against a comeback from James Wade and won 16–13 to reach the semi-finals of the 2026 World Matchplay. The Dutchman will now face Gerwyn Price, who earlier defeated Ross Smith, in a half of the draw that took on a whole new dimension on Friday evening.
It wasn’t the cleanest match of the week, and that’s precisely what makes it interesting. Van Veen struggled at times to score, whilst Wade drew on all his experience in the tight moments, but the Dutch number one found the crucial breaks when it mattered. At this stage of the tournament, there’s no room for error: you have to survive before you can shine.
Van Veen won the match through sheer mental strength
The PDC recounts a closely fought quarter-final, which was inconsistent for a long time before suddenly becoming much more tense. Van Veen first pulled ahead with a 160 checkout to lead 9–6, before extending his lead to 11–7. It looked as though the match was opening up, but Wade refused to go down without a fight.
The Englishman responded with two bullseye finishes, including a 121, to draw level and put the Winter Gardens on edge. The score was 12-12, but the match told a different story: Van Veen had just lost his cushion, Wade sensed an opening, and the atmosphere in the venue was beginning to take its toll.
That was when Van Veen produced the most crucial moment of his evening. A 118 checkout restored his lead to 14-12, then he weathered another response from Wade before closing out the match. His average, around 93 according to Sky Sports, therefore doesn’t tell the whole story. It was his finishing that secured his place in the semi-finals.
Price is on a roll, but not yet untouchable
This semi-final against Price didn’t come out of the blue. The Welshman had already sent out a clear signal against Ross Smith in the quarter-final we’d previewed before the session: the Price v Smith clash in Blackpool. This time, he passed that test on the big stage, with a 16-12 victory, an average of 102.78 and 10 maximums.
Price still had to respond to a real scare, though. Smith fought back from 12-8 to 12-12, enough to bring old doubts flooding back in the closing stages of the televised match. But the Iceman won four frames in a row, with a 121 on the bullseye followed by a 91 finish that really reignited his energy.
Put another way: Price didn’t just win; he won a match that could easily have slipped from his grasp. For a player who has been chasing a major televised ranking title for several seasons now, this sort of run means more than just a score.
The semi-final line-up is complete
Friday evening therefore finalised the men’s semi-final line-up for the World Matchplay. Van Veen will face Price, whilst Luke Littler, the defending champion and always impressive in Blackpool, will take on Dirk van Duijvenbode in the other semi-final.
| Semi-final | Fixtures |
| Lower half | Gerwyn Price v Gian van Veen |
| Top half | Luke Littler v Dirk van Duijvenbode |
| Venue | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| Competition | Betfred World Matchplay 2026 |
For Van Duijvenbode, the task is clear: he’ll need to score better against Price than he did against Wade. For Price, the danger is different. He’s up against a player who has just proved he can stay in the match even when not at his best. In this sort of semi-final, it’s often the small details that make all the difference.
Why this victory matters now
Above all, this quarter-final gives the Price-Van Veen semi-final a real narrative. On the one hand, Price seems to be regaining some of his intensity. On the other, Van Veen goes through on the back of a hard-fought victory, not a dominant display. The rest of the tournament will reveal who has the greater margin for error, but the message is already very clear: the Dutchman is no longer just a promising outsider; he’s still in the mix when the frames get tough.
Sources used: official PDC article and Sky Sports round-up.
