​2026 World Matchplay of Darts first round predictions and previews: 6 seeds heading home early? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The 2026 World Matchplay of Darts will get underway this weekend, and the drama could begin early.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSeveral matches could be thrillers, as there’s a strong non-seed field this year.Here are my predictions for the first round.MORE: 2026 World Matchplay of Darts: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explainedWinner: Josh Rock, 10-82025 was the best year of Josh Rock’s young career, and his semifinal run at Blackpool was one of the highlights.After being selected to the Premier League this year, it’s felt like a below-par year for Rock, despite him making a semifinal run at the UK Open and a quarterfinal run at the Masters. That may be due to him struggling in his PL debut, but in general, the consistency hasn’t been as present as it was last year.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWoodhouse has had a breakout year of his own this year, picking up a pair of titles, but Rock will be a difficult first round opponent for him.I expect resistance from Woodhouse, but I think Rock should be able to get through here, as he’ll want to open up the event with a strong start.Winner: Stephen Bunting, 10-5Bunting is one of the favorites in my eyes to make a run at the title.He’ll have to take down some talented players along the way to do that, but it appears he’s starting to trend back in a positive direction in recent months, after a below-average/inconsistent stretch of results during the past 18 months (mostly at majors).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWe know Zonneveld can beat the best, but after a strong few months to open 2026, he hasn’t played as well in the past couple of months.From a momentum standpoint, Bunting is a strong favorite, but Zonneveld has already shown he can beat several Premier League-level players if he plays mistake-free.Winner: Luke Littler, 10-6As many would expect, Littler is one of the favorites to win the event.He’s won every major since he lost in the European Championship last fall.Springer is certainly one of the tougher opponents to get in the draw from the non-seeded side, but Littler shouldn’t have a huge issue against the young German, who is making his Matchplay debut.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpringer can be just as good as Littler when he plays his A game, but he hasn’t shown that on a big stage enough yet.This could be his chance to get it done, but the Matchplay’s longer format gives Littler an extra edge in this clash.MORE: Watch: Luke Littler hits nine-darter in one of the greatest legs of all time against Josh RockWinner: Nathan Aspinall, 10-7Aspinall has had an odd year, playing very well on the Pro Tour, but hasn’t done much at majors yet.He just missed out on the Premier League after being in it for the past few years, and that may have had an impact o