All eyes are on the Football World Cup taking place in North America in June and July, but those in New York City have a big weekend of sport coming up beginning with this US Darts Masters event to be played at Madison Square Garden on Thursday and Friday.
Some of the top names on the Tour have headed over for this tournament and you can imagine the likes of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have already made plans to watch England take on Panama just a train road out of the City on Saturday afternoon.
Others may choose to take in a game or two themselves with the PDC Tour on hiatus next week before the Players Championship events, another European Tour event and the run up to the World Matchplay gets underway in July.
This is the fourth of eight events to be played in the World Series of Darts events with the next stop being in Australia and New Zealand and it is Michael van Gerwen who has won two of the previous three events played. However, he has chosen to skip the US Masters, but the other seven Premier League participants are all involved and Luke Littler is the other player who has won one of these World Series events in 2026.
All seven Premier League players, and James Wade who comes in for MvG, are favoured to get through, but there were two upsets from the Qualifiers last year and so all will have to be on their toes if they are going to be playing for the title on Friday.
Neither player who earned an upset last year are in the field in 2026, but the sport is growing in North America and none of the eight underdogs should be underestimated. However, if the players are focused, the reality is that the top PDC players should be making it through to the Quarter Final at the end of the Day 1 schedule.
Gian van Veen - 3.5 legs v Fred Krueger: Anyone named Fred Krueger has the capabilities of giving his opponent nightmares, but it would still be a surprise if Gian van Veen is not able to do enough to secure relatively safe passage into the Quarter Final in the opening match of the night.
He has been struggling for consistency, but Gian van Veen also received a tough draw when losing his first match in Slovakia last week at the latest European Tour event.
Before that, Gian van Veen had a decent showing at a Players Championship event and the Dutchman has enough experience to deal with any hostility from the crowd.
Fred Krueger is very experienced too and Qualifying for the US Darts Masters has to be respected, especially as he managed to bring in an 87 average in a Quarter Final loss during that run. Previous efforts of around 82/83 were good enough to win three matches, but another level may be needed to compete with Gian van Veen and two Legs may be as good as it gets for The Nightmare.
James Wade - 1.5 legs v Adam Sevada: He may not have made it through European Q-School, but Adam Sevada did win a match at the World Championship in December before finding Charlie Manby too good and this is one of the growing stars of North American darts.
He paired up with Stowe Buntz to help the United States make it through to the Knock Out Rounds of the World Cup of Darts and they pushed Wales all the way in an 8-5 defeat.
Adam Sevada will have taken plenty of confidence from that, while he produced some good looking averages in the Qualifying tournament before losing in the Final. That performance in the Final will have disappointed the American, but Sevada will enter this event with some confidence.
He did struggle to get his game going when losing to Gerwyn Price last year at this tournament, but James Wade is a player that will not overpower you in the same way.
We haven't seen much of Wade in recent weeks, but he did win a match at the Nordic Darts Masters before losing to Luke Littler and there is a motivation to show he should have been picked for the Premier League. This is another opportunity to prove that and James Wade is still a very solid finisher, which should give him the edge in this one.
If Adam Sevada settles, he could be dangerous, but there is pressure on the underdog to show he is ready to take the next step in his career and James Wade may just hold him off in a 6-2/6-3 kind of win.
Josh Rock to win & most 180s v Jim Long: This may be a case of drawing the short straw for Josh Rock as he is paired up to take on the only North American representative in this tournament who holds a Tour card.
Jim Long was playing in Slovakia last week at the European Tour event and pushed Nathan Aspinall in a 6-4 Second Round defeat, but he has been struggling for consistency in recent weeks.
The World Number 81 does hold a floor win over Josh Rock this season, although they have met once more since then and that was a relatively straightforward win for the Premier League participant.
Josh Rock has been away from action since the World Cup of Darts and it could take a bit of time to find his rhythm, but he remains a big maximum hitter and likely completes the Match Double on his way to the Quarter Final on Friday.
Jonny Clayton - 3.5 legs v Gary Mawson: It took a big effort from Ryan Joyce to edge past Jonny Clayton last week on the European Tour and it is hard to imagine Gary Mawson finding that kind of level to upset the oddsmakers in the First Round in New York City.
Credit where credit is due- Gary Mawson won the US Darts Masters Qualifying tournament, but there is an inconsistency in his play and he will not be able to afford that if he is going to beat Jonny Clayton.
The Welshman has been very consistent on the Tour all season and looks capable of winning a big prize sooner than later, although Jonny Clayton has the same problem as many on the Tour of likely having to beat both Luke Humphries and Luke Littler to do that.
He keeps battling hard though and Clayton was a Semi Finalist at the latest Premier League tournament to underline his consistency.
Barring a load of missed doubles, Jonny Clayton should have a gear too much for Gary Mawson to deal with and that could see him push clear of this handicap.
Stephen Bunting - 2.5 legs v Alex Spellman: One of the PDC players who were upset in the opening Round of the US Darts Masters in 2025 returns to New York City and looking to make sure his second appearance at this event is a much more enjoyable one.
Stephen Bunting will be expected to make amends for that disappointing defeat twelve months ago and he should have the scoring power to see off Alex Spellman.
The American won the CDC Continental Cup to earn his spot at the US Darts Masters, but has been playing in the Modus Super Series and also won the CDC Shootout last month. All of that will give Alex Spellman some confidence, but his averages in winning the Shootout is not going to cut it against Stephen Bunting as long as the Premier League participant can exorcise a few mental demons from losing on this stage the only time he has been on it.
Floor performances at Players Championship 21 and 22 last week suggest Bunting is in fine form and you can excuse the loss to Wessel Nijman in Slovakia last week considering the high level the Dutchman has been producing week after week.
Alex Spellman is unlikely to replicate that kind of power and Stephen Bunting can make relatively calm progress in the last of the First Round matches to be played.
MY PICKS: Gian van Veen - 3.5 Legs @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)
James Wade - 1.5 Legs @ 1.72 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Josh Rock to Win & Most 180s @ 1.61 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Jonny Clayton - 3.5 Legs @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Stephen Bunting - 2.5 Legs @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Darts 2026: 88-118, - 16.50 Units (203 Units Staked, - 8.13% Yield)
