Day 1 action was filled with some big storylines. A couple of tournament favorites and top seeds have already been eliminated.
The storyline from Day 1 was also the dominance of the Dutch in unexpected upsets.
Day 1 coverage & updates
Here are the real-time updates from matches on Day 1
Nathan Aspinall vs. Wessel Nijman:
10:51 p.m. - Nijman makes Aspinall pay after Aspinall missed a double 18 to stay alive. Aspinall joins Luke Humphries as the second top-eight seed of the day to fall in the first round.
10:48 p.m. - Wessel Nijman is one leg away from knocking out Nathan Aspinall.
10:46 p.m. - Nathan Aspinall hits a potentially match-saving 121 bullseye finish, cutting the lead to 8-6.
10:43 p.m. - Wessel Nijman breaks throw and takes an 8-5 lead over Nathan Aspinall.
10:31 p.m. - Wessel Nijman shows pure emotion after a 68 checkout to lead 6-4 at the second break.
10:26 p.m. - Nathan Aspinall hits a huge 121 checkout with a bullseye finish to cut Nijman's lead to 5-3.
10:15 p.m. - Wessel Nijman is posing as a real threat, leading 4-1 after session one. Nathan Aspinall is just 1/8 on doubles.
10:12 p.m. - Wessel Nijman takes an early 3-1 lead as he looks to be the latest Dutch player to advance and upset a highly seeded player.
Luke Humphries vs. Gian van Veen:
9:46 p.m. - Gian van Veen upsets the world number one and reigning champion Luke Humphries, winning 10-8.
9:43 p.m. - Gian van Veen misses a dart at double for a potential 161 finish to knock out the reigning World Matchplay champion.
9:41 p.m. - Gian van Veen takes advantage of Humphries' missed doubles to take an 8-7 lead.
9:35 p.m. - Luke Humphries hits a second ton-plus checkout of the game (127) to tie the match at six legs apiece.
9:28 p.m. - Luke Humphries keeps his composure and hits a double to tie the match up 5-5 heading into the second break. Humphries appeared unhappy after a few members of the crowd were whistling.
9:23 p.m. - Gian van Veen retakes control of the match with a break of throw in leg #7 to take a 4-3 lead.
9:15 p.m. - Luke Humphries wins three legs in a row after going down 2-0. He hit an electric 146 checkout to finish off session one
Danny Noppert vs. Cameron Menzies:
8:51 p.m. - Danny Noppert hits his tenth double to comfortably finish off Cameron Menzies by a score of 10-2.
8:43 p.m. - Cameron Menzies wins leg #10 to end the second session. He still trails 8-2 and has a long way to go to make any sort of comeback.
8:39 p.m. - Cameron Menzies hits a double-double finish to win his first leg of the match. He trails 7-1.
8:28 p.m. - Danny Noppert heads into the first break with a 5-0 lead and has an average of 16.05 points higher than Menzies' current average of 75.6.
8:24 p.m. - Cameron Menzies accidentally hits a 180 with 178 remaining down 3-0 in leg #4.
8:19 p.m. - Danny Noppert takes out a 104 finish for an early 2-0 lead.
James Wade vs. Joe Cullen:
7:57 p.m. - James Wade finished off Joe Cullen, capitalizing on every chance he was given. He averaged a 104.44 and was 10/15 on doubles.
7:47 p.m. - James Wade outscored Joe Cullen 4-1 in the second session, giving himself an 8-2 lead in a race to 10.
7:32 p.m. - James Wade leads 4-1 over Joe Cullen at the first break. The first five legs have consisted of four breaks of throw between both players.
MORE: 2025 World Matchplay of Darts: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained
2025 World Matchplay day 1 schedule
Here are the results from action on Day 1..
First round (Day 1 evening session)
| Match | Date | Time (local) | Score |
| James Wade (9) vs. Joe Cullen | Sat., Jul. 19 | 7:15 p.m. | 10-3 |
| Danny Noppert (16) vs. Cameron Menzies | Sat., Jul. 19 | 8:15 p.m. | 10-2 |
| Luke Humphries (1) vs. Gian van Veen | Sat., Jul. 19 | 9:15 p.m. | 8-10 |
| Nathan Aspinall (8) vs. Wessel Nijman | Sat., Jul. 19 | 10:15 p.m. | 6-10 |
MORE: 2025 World Matchplay of Darts predictions: First round
Tournament bracket
Here are the matchups for the round of 16.
| Match | Date |
| Gian van Veen vs. Danny Noppert | TBD |
| Wessel Nijman vs. James Wade | TBD |
| Bunting/Joyce vs. Anderson/Woodhouse | TBD |
| Clayton/Schindler vs. Chisnall/De Decker | TBD |
| Littler/Searle vs. Wright/Wattimena | TBD |
| Heta/Gilding vs. Cross/van Duijvenbode | TBD |
| van Gerwen/van Barneveld vs. Smith/Rock | TBD |
| Dobey/Pietreczko vs. Price/Gurney | TBD |
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