Pusey Awaits Keane Barry In Round 1 Of World Darts Championship With Possible Seeded Clash Awaiting

Tim Pusey awaits Keane Barry in Round 1 of the 2026 World Darts Championship at Ally Pally.

Provided the leading Irish darts player gets past his Australian opponent in Round 1, a second round clash with a seeded player likely awaits.

Keane Barry Faces Tim Pusey In Round 1 Of World Darts Championship

Keane Barry will play Tim Pusey in the opening round at the 2026 World Darts Championship.

World Championship hopeful Josh Rock is the leading contender from the island of Ireland at Alexandra Palace this festive period, but Barry is certainly Ireland’s best hope as the highest ranked player in the PDC Order of Merit.

A total of 128 players head to Ally Pally with the aim of winning the Sid Waddell Trophy. Defending champion Luke Littler is unsurprisingly the favourite, with a whole host of other darting stars in action too.

One of those men who has aspirations of a strong run is indeed ‘Dynamite’.

The Irishman has been drawn in the second quarter of the World Darts Championship draw bracket. He faces a winnable Round 1 encounter with Australia’s Pusey, who is taking part in his first Worlds whilst Barry is embarking on his seventh.

Keane Barry has completely changed his throwing style, now has the darts standing up to attention instead of stacking pic.twitter.com/TKeUasiDvv

— Phill Barrs (@phillbarrs) February 10, 2025

Barry will likely be a marginal favourite to sweep Pusey aside, but will have to bring his A-game. The County Meath man has played in the last six consecutive World Championships, but has never gone further than the second round.

He will be hoping for a stronger run this time around, but will have a tricky second round tie if indeed he beats Pusey in the opener. A possible Round 2 tie with 13th seed Martin Schindler awaits, if indeed the German wins his opening game too of course.

This potential Round 2 tie is huge for the 23-year-old, who will fancy his chances against ‘The Wall’ should the pair meet in the Last 64. Although Schindler is a seed, Barry certainly has the beating of him on his day.

Schindler and Barry have only ever played twice before, with the German winning both previous encounters.

Keane Barry produces a stunning performance to progress to the second round where he'll face Gerwyn Price 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wYCs42RfWT

— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 15, 2024

Keane Barry Potential World Darts Championship Opponents

Provided Keane Barry gets through his Round 1 meeting with Australia’s Tim Pusey, he could be in for some tough battles against several darting stars over the festive period.

Winning on the Ally Pally stage is extremely difficult, which Barry can attest to. Having never gone further than Round 2, the 23-year-old will be desperate to put in a career-best performance at the Worlds this time around.

Fellow Irishman Steve Lennon is on a collision course with Raymond van Barneveld, with World Cup of Darts partner William O’Connor looking like he will face Michael van Gerwen in Round 2 if he progresses.

If Barry can get past Pusey and then beats Martin Schindler in the second round, then a third round meeting with either Ryan Searle or Brendan Dolan looks like the two most likely possible opponents for ‘Dynamite’.

Random darts clip of the day, Keane Barry defeating Luke Littler in the Super 16’s Final. pic.twitter.com/DhOsj4zATn

— DartsAnonymous (@anonymous_darts) March 17, 2024

If Barry can make it into the last 16, a battle with number four seed Stephen Bunting or perhaps Dirk van Duijvenbode likely awaits.

A possible quarter-final meeting with Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith or Ross Smith seems the most likely should Barry get that far. Of the three Irishmen in action at Ally Pally, Barry’s quarter seems the most favourable on paper.

Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price or Chris Dobey are the three most likely opponents in the semi-final if Barry manages to progress that far.

A final meeting with Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen or even Northern Irishman Josh Rock could then be on the cards.

Firstly though, Keane Barry mustn’t get carried away and has to get past his tricky Round 1 draw against Tim Pusey.

Keane Barry Most Likely Route To World Darts Championship Final