Comical footage featuring Michael van Gerwen is currently going viral across the internet following an incident during his match on Tuesday evening.
Van Gerwen faced William O’Connor with a place in the post-Christmas phase of the tournament at stake. During the contest, a humorous moment occurred that has since been widely shared online and can be seen in the circulating footage.
”Recht op zijn bakkes” is Dutch for “Right in his face”.
"Recht op zijn bakkes" pic.twitter.com/WFj57Ja8Cn
— SportsMoments4All (@SportMoments4Al) December 23, 2025
The Dutchman ultimately proved too strong for the Northern Irishman, securing his place in the third round. In doing so, Van Gerwen joined fellow Dutch players Wesley Plaisier, Gian van Veen, Niels Zonneveld, Kevin Doets and Jermaine Wattimena, all of whom had already booked their spots in the next stage.
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Earlier in the day, Wattimena had also progressed to the following round, but the same could not be said for Danny Noppert, who narrowly missed out. Noppert was involved in a sensational match against Justin Hood, who was firing in maximum scores at an astonishing rate. Despite being under immense pressure, ‘The Freeze’ repeatedly produced high checkouts to stay alive in the contest.
Hood hit the maximum score of 180 no fewer than 11 times, pushing the match into extra legs. It ultimately came down to a sudden-death leg, where the diminutive Hood struck decisively, sending the current world number six packing.
With that, the balance of the tournament has been drawn. What began with 128 players has now been reduced to just 32. While many competitors are heading home briefly to spend Christmas with friends and family, others have opted to remain close to Alexandra Palace to maintain focus and routine.
The tournament will resume on Saturday, 27 December, with both afternoon and evening sessions. From that point on, there will be just one remaining break, on New Year’s Eve. As a result, some players will have to forgo New Year celebrations, knowing they must be fresh and fully focused for one of the most important matches of the year the following day.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for New Year’s Day, followed by the semi-finals on 2 January. The tournament will conclude with the final on Saturday, 3 January.