Odds, predictions and tournament guide

HAPPY Dartsmas everyone, the PDC World Darts Championship is back. 

Already the biggest event on the darting calendar, this year’s competition promises to be even bigger with a record 128 players entered. Furthermore, the winner of this year’s event will pocket a record £1 million pounds, the largest in the history of the tournament. 

Played at the iconic Alexandra Palace, the World Championship uses set-play format. This tests the mental strength and stamina of the players in a different way, as does the longer format, which often results in the cream rising to the top. 

Luke Littler is the world No.1, the defending champion and also the favourite to win the title for a second time. The Nuke will not just have a target on his back, he will have intense competition to handle as the players fight it out for the record winner’s cheque.

➡️ World Darts Championship betting tips: Quick overview

Luke Littler is the name on everybody’s lips ahead of the World Darts Championship. But with such a huge competition taking place, there are numerous betting markets available, all offering great value across the three-week long darting party. Here is our betting selections for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship:

🏆 2026 PDC World Darts Championship odds for tournament winner

• Luke Littler – 10/11
• Luke Humphries – 9/2
• Gian van Veen – 14/1
• Gerwyn Price – 16/1
• Josh Rock – 16/1
• Michael van Gerwen – 20/1

*odds provided by Betway, subject to change

👉 2026 World Darts Championship draw & quarter analysis

There’s been some significant tweaks to the format for the 2026 World Darts Championship. The competition has been extended from 96 players to 128, with the top 32 seeds now entering the draw at the first round stage, as opposed to the second. All 128 players have been split into four quarters. We take a closer look at all four below:

Quarter 1: The World Number One’s section

World number one and defending champion Luke Littler is in the first quarter. The Nuke is 1/3 to win his section, with his biggest threat set to come from second favourite Gerwyn Price, who is 11/2. 

Chris Dobey can’t be ignored. The 2025 Ally Pally semi-finalist is 11/1 to repeat last year’s run to the last four. He also made the last eight in the previous two editions.

However, with Littler not set to face the likes of Price or Dobey until at least the quarter-finals, when the competition is best of nine sets, the world number one should comfortably come through his section.  

🎯 Bet on Luke Littler to win Quarter 1 at 1/3 with bet365 🎯

Quarter 2: The Open Quarter

Seeded at number 4, Stephen Bunting is the top seed and betting favourite to win the second quarter. The Bullet is 10/3 in an open looking section.

The bookies see Jonny Clayton as his biggest threat. The Ferret is second in the betting at 5/1. However, neither Bunting or Clayton have been in great form in recent weeks, so this quarter could be rife for a shock winner. 

Other names in the running to win the quarter are Ross Smith (7/1), Dirk van Duijvenbode (10/1), Martin Schindler (10/1), Ryan Seale (10/1) and Michael Smith (12/1).

Dirk van Duijvenbode is having a strong season, scoring consistently. However, the Dutchman should meet Bunting in the fourth round if all goes to schedule.  

Jonny Clayton’s saving grace is that he is in the less competitive-looking bottom half of the draw. Therefore, we are backing him to come through.

🎯 Bet on Jonny Clayton to win Quarter 2 at 5/1 with BetMGM 🎯

Quarter 3: The “Group of Death”

Number 2 seed Luke Humphries leads the way in Quarter 3 at 5/6. It’s not quite the Group of Death, because it’s a knockout competition, but it certainly looks to be the most competitive quarter of the four.

As well as having dangerous floaters like James Wade, Nathan Aspinall and Mike De Decker to contend with, Humphries also has rising Dutch stars Wessel Nijman and Gian van Veen for company.

Humphries is on a collision course with Nijman in the third round, with Aspinall a potential fourth round opponent. If he comes through that, he could end up meeting Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals.

Wessel Nijman is an interesting proposition. He is currently 20/1 with William Hill to win Quarter 3. We think he is worth a small wager as an outside bet.

As for Gian van Veen, he has finally come of age. The Dutchman appears to have Humphries’ number, having beaten the former champion in the European Championship final in October and again in the first round of the Players Championship Finals in November.

However, both van Veen’s wins over Cool Hand were in legs format, and with the Dutchman yet to win at the Ally Pally, we see the winner of the quarter coming from the top half of the section.

Humphries is 5/6, Nijman is 20/1. Cool Hand is the safe bet, but we’re also having a side wager on Nijman. 

🎯 Bet on Luke Humphries to win Quarter 3 at 5/6 with William Hill 🎯

Quarter 4: The Bottom Bracket

Michael van Gerwen is the number three seed, but is not even the betting favorite to win his section of the draw. Last year’s beaten finalist has endured a tough year and it’s difficult to see the three-time champion winning his bracket, never mind the title.

MVG could potentially meet former World Champion Peter Wright in the third round and Gary Anderson in the fourth. Also lurking in this half of the draw is Jermaine Wattimena.

Josh Rock is the favourite at 11/5, with MVG at 13/5 and Danny Noppert at 5/1. Northern Irishman Rock has had a great season, and has at times looked like one of the few players in the world capable of taking the game to Luke Littler.

Like Rock, Danny Noppert has also grown in stature this year. His win over MVG in the last 16 of the Grand Slam back in November got a huge monkey off his back. Furthermore, the Dutchman has also reached the semi-finals of the World Masters, World Grand Prix, European Championship and Grand Slam of Darts. 

🎯 Bet on Danny Noppert to win Quarter 4 at 5/1 with Betfred 🎯

🎯 World Darts Championship betting tips: Outright winner predictions

Based on current form and his track record of reaching the final of the last two editions, it’s hard to see past Luke Littler winning the competition. Along with The Nuke, we look at some of the contenders to win the 2026 World Darts Championship below: 

The Favourite: Luke Littler

What more can we say about Luke Littler. He is a generational talent and has had an astonishing 2025 that has seen him become the youngest number one in the history of the sport. The draw is in his favour, and it’s hard to see anybody stopping him. 

Littler is short odds, but we feel his greatest opponent will be himself. The Nuke is expected to win and become the first player to pick up the £1 million winner’s cheque. Only the pressure of that is likely to thwart him.

🎯 Bet on Luke Littler to retain his crown at 10/11 with bet365 🎯

The Main Rival: Luke Humphries

Despite losing the world No.1 ranking to Littler, Cool Hand Luke Humphries has had a good year winning the Masters and the Premier League. Furthermore, he’s one of the few players in the world who knows he can beat Littler.

However, before the 2024 champion can even think about facing Littler again, he has to come through his section of the draw. 

That won’t be easy, but if Humphries can navigate his way to the final stages, his self belief and confidence should be sky-high, making him a real candidate for winning the competition.  

🎯 Bet on Luke Humphries to win the 2026 World Championship at 4/1 with BetMGM 🎯

Best of the Rest (Value Pick): James Wade

James Wade has become a real thorn in the side of the current generation of players, with the 42-year-old up to No.7 in the latest world rankings.

Nothing seems to phase Wade and that makes him dangerous. Although he’s never reached the final of the Worlds, he is a veteran of the Ally Pally, having competed here every year since the competition switched to the venue in 2007.

Wade can switch off in matches, he has been known to lose focus. This could make him vulnerable in the early rounds. But if can make his way to the latter stages of the competition, no one will want to face him. 

🎯 Bet on James Wade at 66/1 each-way with William Hill 🎯

Dark Horse: Danny Noppert

Danny Noppert is a player who has been looking more and more dangerous with every passing tournament. The Dutchman has finally started to turn up and perform at TV events, with his consistency around the treble 20 now up there with the best on the circuit.

This will be Noppert’s eighth successive appearance at the Ally Pally. So far his record is nothing to write home about, he has never got past the third round. However, Noppie is now up to No.6 in the world. He is a different beast these days and is due a good performance in this event.

🎯 Bet on Danny Noppert to reach the final at 16/1 with Betfred 🎯

📊 Other betting markets to consider for Ally Pally

There are plenty of alternative betting markets available that can keep us interested across the duration of the event. Some of the more popular ones are: 

• Most 180s: With the longer format, this tournament sees more 180s than any other. Luke Littler is the betting favourite to hit the most 180s. However, keep your eye on power scorers like Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting and Danny Noppert.
• 9-dart finish: There are plenty of 9-dart betting markets. There are simple yes/no options for all the top players, and there is also an over/under option for the amount of tournament 9-darters. For a heads up, two were hit in the 2025 edition. 
• Nationality of winner: With Luke Littler the favourite and Luke Humphries the second, an English Winner is the red hot favourite in this betting market. You can also bet on the winner being Dutch, Welsh, Northern Irish or from the Rest of the World.
• Match betting: With the World Championship played over sets format, there is a different type of pressure. It’s worth noting that the opening two rounds are played over the Best of 5 Sets (the shortest of the competition), so that’s when the upsets are most likely to occur.

🗂️ 2026 World Darts Championship format

The majority of PDC competitions are played over legs. In other words, it’s simply a race to a number of legs. For example, the best of 11 legs is first to six, or best of 21 legs is first to 11.  

The World Championship is different. The format used is set play. A set is the best of five legs, which means three legs are required to win. 

This brings drama to each set throughout the tournament. Especially when one reaches a 2-2 scoreline, which means a deciding leg is needed to determine who wins the set. 

However, the pressure cranks up a level in matches where the scores are equal on sets and legs in the deciding set. Here, a player needs to win the set by two clear legs. If the set reaches 5-5, then a sudden-death leg is played to decide the winner of the match. 

The amount of sets required to win a match grows longer throughout the competition. Starting with the Best of Five Set in the opening round, the final is played over a marathon 13 sets: 

• R1 and R2: Best of 5 Sets
• R3 and R4: Best of 7 Sets
• Quarter-Finals: Best of 9 Sets
• Semi-Finals: Best of 11 Sets
• Final: Best of 13 Sets

Moving on, and the field for this year’s event is also the biggest ever. It has been extended from 96 players in the 2025 edition to 128. 

Led by Luke Littler, the top 40 players in the PDC Order of Merit qualified for the competition. The top 32 in the Order of Merit are the 32 seeds in that order.

They are joined at Ally Pally by the 40 highest-ranked players on the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit and a further 48 players qualified through playing in international qualifiers, such as three-time women’s world champion Beau Greaves and veteran Paul Lim.

💰 2026 World Darts Championship prize money

A record-breaking £5 million pounds is up for grabs at this year’s World Championship. The winner will pocket £1 million, the highest ever payout to the player who lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy. Like last year, there will also be a £60,000 bonus paid to any player who hits a 9-darter. 

• Total Fund: £5,000,000
• Winner: £1,000,000
• Runner-up: £400,000
• Semi-Finalist losers: £200,000
• Quarter-Final losers: £100,000
• Fourth round losers: £60,000
• Third round losers: £35,000
• Second round losers: £25,000
• First round losers: £15,000
• 9-Darter Finish Bonus: £60,000

🔄 2025 World Darts Championship: A quick recap

The 2025 final of the World Championship saw Luke Littler fulfill his potential by beating Michael van Gerwen 7-3 to win his first ever title. 

It was Littler’s second successive final after the teenager came close to winning in 2024, before eventually succumbing to a 7-4 defeat against Luke Humphries.

Littler was in control of the 2024 final at one stage, so when he found himself in a similar position against van Gerwen 12 months later he knew exactly what was required.    

The teenager could have been intimidated by MVG’s reputation and track record, but he showed maturity way beyond his years to fight off van Gerwen every time the three-time World Champion threatened a comeback.

Littler won the final with a three-dart average of 102.73, MVG averaged 100.69. His 7-3 win officially signalled the changing of the guard at the top of world darts.   

📺 Conclusion & how to watch

The 2026 PDC Darts World Championship action gets under way on Thursday, 11 December, with Luke Littler getting his title defence underway against Darius Labanauskas the highlight of the night.

From Friday onwards, every day will feature an afternoon and night session, until the competition takes a three-day Christmas break from 24 to 26 December. The competition then resumes post Christmas, with another pause on 31 December. The quarter-finals begin in the new year, with the final taking place on Saturday, 3 January. 

Every single match will be shown live on Sky Sports Darts. And we will also have all the latest news and results from the event here at The Sun. 

About the author

Craig Mahood

Craig Mahood is an expert in sports betting and online casinos and has worked with the company since 2020. He joined the Betting & Gaming team at The Sun in June 2022 and works closely with the leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to provide content on all areas of sports betting and gaming. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter at the Scottish Sun, covering Scottish football with particular focus on Celtic and Rangers, As well as football, he has covered horse racing, boxing, darts, the Olympics and tennis for the Sun.

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