Phil Haigh
Published November 24, 2025 4:44pm
Updated November 24, 2025 5:07pm
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Luke Littler is favourite to win the World Darts Championship in 2026 (Picture: Getty Images)
Luke Littler has learned who he will face in the opening round of the PDC World Darts Championship when he begins the defence of his title next month.
The Nuke is only playing at Alexandra Palace for the third time after taking the tournament and the entire sport by storm over his first two appearances in the World Championship.
At just 16 years old he made the final where he was beaten by Luke Humphries, before going one step further and lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy thanks to beating Michael van Gerwen in January.
Littler returns to north London on December 11 as the clear favourite to get his hands on the trophy again and his first opponent will be Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas.
The 49-year-old is very experienced and a former quarter-finalist at Alexandra Palace, reaching the last eight in 2020 thanks to wins over the likes of Ian White, Steve Beaton and Max Hopp.
Lucky D has pedigree, but little compared to the man he faces at Ally Pally, who goes into the tournament as world number one.
On the draw, Littler told Sky Sports: ‘Very happy with it. Not the quickest player but it’s all about getting past that first round. It won’t be easier but I’ve just got to get past Darius.
Littler has won the last three major tournaments (Picture: Getty Images)
‘If there are nerves then I know how to cope with them. Last year I didn’t have a clue how to cope with them.’
On the prospect of defending his title, he said: ‘Gary Anderson was the last person to go back-to-back 10 years ago, that’s what I want to do, go back-to-back.’
The tournament gets underway on December 11, when Littler will play Labanauskas, with the final on January 3.
Luke Humphries is looking to regain the World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images)
The man he knocked off his perch at the top of the world rankings, Luke Humphries, takes on Ted Evetts in round one.
Cool Hand is looking to win the World Championship for a second time and will be the chief threat to Littler, going in as the second seed.
Three-time world champion and last years’ runner-up Van Gerwen takes on Mitsuhiko Tatsunami.
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Former champion Gerwyn Price will be tagged as a contender this time round and he faces Adam Gawlas in his first match.
A standout tie in the opening round sees Daryl Gurney take on the best female player on the planet Beau Greaves.
2026 PDC World Darts Championship draw
(1) Luke Littler v Darius Labanauskas
Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
(32) Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks
Mensur Suljovic v David Cameron
(16) Damon Heta v Steve Lennon
Raymond van Barneveld v Stefan Bellmont
(17) Rob Cross v Cor Dekker
Ian White v Mervyn King
(8) Chris Dobey v Xiaochen Zong
Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
(25) Luke Woodhouse v Boris Krcmar
Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp
(9) Gerwyn Price v Adam Gawlas
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
(24) Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo
Stephen Bunting is a contender this time round (Picture: Getty Images)
(4) Stephen Bunting v Sebastian Bialecki
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
(29) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Baetens
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
(13) Martin Schindler v Stephen Burton
Keane Barry v Tim Pusey
(20) Ryan Searle v Chris Landman
Brendan Dolan v Tavis Dudeney
(5) Jonny Clayton v Adam Lipscombe
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
(28) Michael Smith v Lisa Ashton
Niels Zonneveld v Haupai Puha
(12) Ross Smith v Andreas Harrysson
Thibault Tricole v Motomu Sakai
(21) Dave Chisnall v Fallon Sherrock
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jose de Sousa
(2) Luke Humphries v Ted Evetts
Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
(31) Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek
Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman
Nathan Aspinall has been to two World Championship semi-finals (Picture: Getty Images)
(15) Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
(18) Mike De Decker v David Munyua
Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
(7) James Wade v Ryusei Azemoto
Ricky Evans v Man Lok Leung
(26) Cameron Menzies v Charlie Manby
Matt Campbell v Adam Sevada
(10) Gian van Veen v Cristo Reyes
Alan Soutar v Teemu Harju
(23) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Darren Beveridge
Madars Razma v Jamai van den Herik
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
William O’Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
(30) Peter Wright v Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Kim Huybrechts v Arno Merk
Gary Anderson remains a threat (Picture: Getty Images)
(14) Gary Anderson v Adam Hunt
Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock
(19) Jermaine Wattimena v Dominik Gruellich
Scott Williams v Paolo Nebrida
(6) Danny Noppert v Jurjen van der Velde
Nick Kenny v Justin Hood
(27) Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata
Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
(11) Josh Rock v Gemma Hayter
Niko Springer v Joe Comito
(22) Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves
Callan Rydz v Patrik Kovacs
The next edition of the World Darts Championship will be the first to boast a £1m winner’s prize, but Littler says the trophy is more important to him than the money.
‘It’s obviously on your mind but for myself it’s just about going back-to-back,’ he said. ‘Go back-to-back and think about the money later.’
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