Only the Stats Can Derail Luke Littler in World Darts Champs?

by Roy Brindley, 1 December 2025

The 2026 World Darts Championship requires one player to win seven successive matches. Luke Littler is even-money to be that man.

The World Championship title has been retained just once since 2012. Can Luke Littler buck this trend? © Taylor Lanning/PDC

Key Facts:

• Luke Littler is even-money to retain his World Darts Championship crown.
• Nine days of first-round action starts on December 11.
• The 128-player competition features a £5 million prize pool. The winner will earn £1 million.
• Raymond van Barneveld makes his 33rd World Championship appearance.

No bookmaker is offering odds greater than even-money about Luke Littler defending his Paddy Power World Darts Championship title. The teenager will begin the defence of his crown on December 11. Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas, a quarter-finalist in 2019/2020, is Littler’s first opponent.

Success in the recent Players Championship Finals – the sixth PDC ranking televised major title Littler has won in 2025 – has catapulted the teenager to the top spot in the world rankings. He is riding on the crest of a wave with a tailwind of good fortune cheering him on.

If there has ever been value in an even-money shot amongst a 128-player field, some believe he is it. It should not be forgotten that the eventual champion – be that Littler or otherwise – needs to win seven successive matches!

Littler Needs to Win Seven Straight and Some

The top UK online betting sites quote Littler 1/33 to beat Labanauskas. He is likely to start equally short in his second-round match against either David Davies or Mario Vandenbogaerde.

THE MOMENT LUKE LITTLER WON THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Rgde1bGAmH

— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2025

These may be mismatches, but punters should know there is one stat that Littler must overcome to take the £1 million winner’s prize: Only once since 2012 has any player retained their World Championship title. In this same timeframe, only two defending champions have reached the final.

In the positive column, favourites have an outstanding record in the competition. The only semblance of a shock winner during the past decade came in 2018 when Rob Cross took the title. Pre-event, the first season pro could have been backed at 20/1.

Dates for Your World Darts Championship Diary

Following the expansion of this year’s tournament, round one of the World Championship, played at London’s Alexandra Palace for the 19th consecutive year, will take place over nine days of action starting on December 11.

Round two matches will be played between December 20 and 23. Following a three-day Christmas break, rounds three and four will take place between December 27 and 30. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are scheduled for back-to-back days: January 1-3.

World Darts Championship Format

• Round One – Best of Five Sets
• Round Two – Best of Five Sets
• Round Three – Best of Seven Sets
• Round Four – Best of Seven Sets
• Quarter-Finals – Best of Nine Sets
• Semi-Finals – Best of 11 Sets
• Final – Best of 13 Sets

World Darts Championship Prize Fund

• Winner – £1,000,000
• Runner-Up – £400,000
• Semi-Finalists – £200,000
• Quarter-Finalists – £100,000
• Round Four Losers – £60,000
• Round Three Losers – £35,000
• Round Two Losers – £25,000
• Round One Losers – £15,000
• Total – £5,000,000

Round 1 Matches to Look Out For

Women’s Series champion Beau Greaves makes her long-awaited return to the World Championship with a showdown against two-time quarter-finalist Daryl Gurney.

Gurney’s World Cup teammate Josh Rock will also take on a Women’s Series qualifier. The Northern Irishman has drawn debutant Gemma Hayter.

Fallon Sherrock, who is the only female player to record a match win on the sport’s biggest stage, will meet Dave Chisnall. Elsewhere, 2023 World Champion Michael Smith faces Women’s World Matchplay winner Lisa Ashton.

Two-time World Champion Gary Anderson takes on his former protege, Adam Hunt, for a place in Round Two. Another Scotsman, Peter Wright, is up against Women’s Series qualifier Noa-Lynn van Leuven.

Wright has been eliminated in the first round in four of the last five major televised competitions he has played.

Amongst other veterans, four-time semi-finalist James Wade begins his 22nd consecutive World Championship campaign against Asian Tour Qualifier Ryusei Azemoto.

Raymond van Barneveld will get his record-equalling 33rd World Championship campaign underway against Challenge Tour winner Stefan Bellmont.