Is Darts’ 2025 World Grand Prix Littler’s for the Taking?

by Roy Brindley, 1 October 2025

Luke Littler is chasing his fourth PDC televised major of 2025 at the BoyleSports World Grand Prix.

Luke Littler is chasing his fourth PDC televised ranking major title of 2025 in Leicester. © Gábor Kiss/PDC Europe

Key Facts:

• Luke Littler is 2/1 favourite to win darts’ £600,000 BoyleSports World Grand Prix.
• Dutch stars, including multiple champion Michael van Gerwen, will clash in the opening round.
• The 32-player Sky televised competition begins on October 6.

Belgian number one, Mike De Decker, who stunned Luke Humphries to lift the BoyleSports World Grand Prix title 12 months ago, will launch the defence of his title against two-time World Champion, Peter Wright.

The draw for next week’s £600,000 competition has produced a string of other blockbuster opening round clashes. For starters, world number one Luke Humphries, who lifted the trophy in 2023, faces a stern challenge against 2022 finalist Nathan Aspinall.

World Champion Luke Littler, who online betting sites make the competition’s 2/1 favourite, will renew his rivalry with World Youth Champion Gian van Veen in a battle of two of darts’ most exciting young stars.

Top 16 vs In-Form 16 – Epic Confrontations

The double-start competition will take place in Leicester’s Mattioli Arena between October 6 and 12. Sky Sports will broadcast every game live. The field features the world’s top 16 players and the top 16 from the one-year ProTour Order of Merit.

Luke Humphries is the current world number one, while Andrew Gilding earned his place in this PDC-ranked televised event as the 16th player on the one-year list. The competition’s format – of established players mixing with in-form players – never fails to produce epic confrontations.

As a result, an opening-round clash between 2020 champion Gerwyn Price and Ryan Searle is too close to being called. Searle will have the winds of confidence billowing in his sails following a second 2025 Players Championship title claimed at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena on Tuesday.

🎯 The most unique tournament on the @OfficialPDC tour gets underway next week.

Here's the draw for the BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix.#BOYLESportsWGP pic.twitter.com/mSwRU5ws3h

— BOYLE Sports (@BoyleSports) September 29, 2025

Four Dutch Masters Face Off

Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen wants to build on his recent World Series Finals victory. However, he will have no easy task facing fellow Dutchman, 2020 World Grand Prix finalist, Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Another all-Dutch clash sees Danny Noppert take on Jermaine Wattimena. Fourth seed, Stephen Bunting, winner of the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel last weekend, should have a more straightforward assignment against German debutant Niko Springer.

There is a meeting of legends with Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld in combat. Elsewhere, Josh Rock, possibly the most exciting player on the circuit right now, will lock horns with 2024 semi-finalist Ryan Joyce.

2025 Boyle Sports World Grand Prix Draw

Top Bracket

• Luke Humphries (ranked 1) v Nathan Aspinall
• Martin Schindler (16) v Krzysztof Ratajski
• Chris Dobey (8) v Cameron Menzies
• Rob Cross (9) v Wessel Nijman
• Stephen Bunting (4) v Niko Springer
• Danny Noppert (13) v Jermaine Wattimena
• James Wade (5) v Joe Cullen
• Gary Anderson (12) v Raymond van Barneveld

Bottom Bracket

• Luke Littler (2) v Gian van Veen
• Peter Wright (15) v Mike De Decker
• Gerwyn Price (7) v Ryan Searle
• Josh Rock (10) v Ryan Joyce
• Michael van Gerwen (3) v Dirk van Duijvenbode
• Ross Smith (14) v Daryl Gurney
• Jonny Clayton (6) v Andrew Gilding
• Damon Heta (11) v Luke Woodhouse

*Except for Peter Wright, the sports betting arm of World Grand Prix sponsors, BoyleSports, makes all ranked/seeded odds-on favourites to win their first-round matches.

Littler Hoping To Go Four-From-Five

The 2025 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is the fifth PDC televised ranking major of 2025. To date, Luke Littler has won three titles, including January’s World Championship. Luke Humphries won the other, February’s World Masters.

Littler is the sponsor’s 2/1 favourite. The Irish company then bets: 11/2 Luke Humphries, 8/1 Michael van Gerwen, 10/1 Josh Rock, 12/1 Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting, 20/1 Gian van Veen, 25/1 Gary Anderson and Jonny Clayton.

The 2025 BoyleSports World Grand Prix will be shown live on darts longstanding broadcast partner, Sky Sports, in the UK, through the PDC’s global broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDC.tv (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).