PDC World Darts Championship 2026: Tournament preview, odds & predictions

• Everything you need to know about the PDC World Darts Championship 2026

• Reigning champion and world number one, Luke Littler, arrives as the favourite

• Will the world stage bring us another famous nine-dart finish?

As the biggest event on the PDC calendar comes back around, Ladbrokes shares its PDC World Darts Championship 2026 tournament preview, odds, and predictions.

With Luke Littler, the recently-crowned world number one, looking to retain his title, we're in for another unforgettable tournament - as the biggest names and the biggest personalities in darts step up to the famous Ally Pally oche.

Dive into Ladbrokes' in-depth tournament preview for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship, with all the key information, the latest live odds, and a couple of expert predictions.

• Date of opening match: Thursday, December 11, 2025

• Date of final: Saturday, January 3, 2026

• Venue: Alexandra Palace, London, UK

• Prize pool: £5,000,000

• Winner's prize money: £1,000,000

• Reigning champion: Luke Littler (ENG)

𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙃𝙊𝙏 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨! 🔥

"Luke Littler to go out in the first round!"
"Josh Rock will win it with a nine darter!"
"Gian van Veen to reach the final!"

Fans give us their bold predictions ahead of the magic at Ally Pally! pic.twitter.com/qUv4F1RT8t

— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) December 11, 2025

The biggest event on the darts calendar returns to the Ally Pally for another year, with 128 hopeful players competing at the 2026 PDC World Championship for a chance to get their hands on the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy.

A new-look format for this year's tournament means every single player will have to navigate a first-round tie, putting added pressure on the seeded players who would always have received a bye to the second stage in previous years. Players race to three sets in the first couple of rounds, with the matches gradually increasing in length until the final - where the first player to seven sets will win the PDC World Championship.

As is the case with so many major tournaments, Luke Littler comes into this one as the reigning champion, with his win over Michael van Gerwen in January 2025 sealing his title as the youngest ever darts world champion. The teenager is heavily tipped to reach the final on January 3, 2026, but in a short format such as this, any slip-up can see matches race away from you - so drama is guaranteed.

Unsurprisingly, the recently-crowned world number one and top seed, Luke Littler, enters the PDC World Championship 2026 as the clear front-runner, with the teenager hunting for a second world title in as many years. The 18-year-old - who still has a great chance of picking up the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year Award - has already claimed the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, and Players Championship Finals this year, so it's easy to see why the bookies have him at evens to kick off 2026 in the same manner.

It's Luke Humphries who comes next in the bookies' odds, with 'Cool Hand' able to snatch back his place at the top of the world rankings with a win in January's final. Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen, and Josh Rock all enter the tournament with odds of 16/1 or under, with three-time winner Michael van Gerwen the only other player priced at 20/1 or below.

Ladbrokes' PDC World Darts Championship odds price Premier League players Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting at 33/1, before a jump to the outsiders - with the likes of James Wade, Gary Anderson, Danny Noppert, and Beau Greaves finding themselves priced at 50/1 or higher.

You can check out our separate article with the complete PDC World Darts Championship 2026 schedule here.

Thursday, December 11

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Friday, December 12

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Saturday, December 13

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Sunday, December 14

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Monday, December 15

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Tuesday, December 16

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Wednesday, December 17

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Thursday, December 18

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Friday, December 19

• 12:30 - Round One (x4)

• 19:00 - Round One (x4)

Saturday, December 20

• 12:30 - Round Two (x4)

• 19:00 - Round Two (x4)

Sunday, December 21

• 12:30 - Round Two (x4)

• 19:00 - Round Two (x4)

Monday, December 22

• 12:30 - Round Two (x4)

• 19:00 - Round Two (x4)

Tuesday, December 23

• 12:30 - Round Two (x4)

• 19:00 - Round Two (x4)

--------- Christmas break ---------

Saturday, December 27

• 12:30 - Round Three (x3)

• 19:00 - Round Three (x3)

Sunday, December 28

• 12:30 - Round Three (x3)

• 19:00 - Round Three (x3)

Monday, December 29

• 12:30 - Round Three (x3)

• 19:00 - Round Three (x1)

• 19:00 - Round Four (x2)

Tuesday, December 30

• 12:30 - Round Four (x3)

• 19:00 - Round Four (x3)

--------- New Year's Eve ---------

Thursday, January 1

• 12:30 - Quarter-finals (x2)

• 19:00 - Quarter-finals (x2)

Friday, January 2

• 19:30 - Semi-finals (x2)

Saturday, January 3

• 20:00 - Final

The PDC World Darts Championship 2026 will be delivering entertainment right from the off, with the opening-round draw treating us to some excellent matches - featuring all of the world's very best. Below are some of our standout matches from Round One, with Luke Littler leading the way.

• Luke Littler vs Darius Labanauskas

• Luke Humphries vs Ted Evetts

• Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami

• Stephen Bunting vs Sebastian Bialecki

• Gerwyn Price vs Adam Gawlas

• Jonny Clayton vs Adam Lipscombe

• Dave Chisnall vs Fallon Sherrock

• Daryl Gurney vs Beau Greaves

Rounding off Ladbrokes' 2026 PDC World Darts Championship preview, we're going to put our expertise on the line and make a couple of bold predictions - starting with a dramatic opening round.

With seeded players now entering the tournament at the same stage as everybody else, it seems almost inevitable that at least one player will be on the wrong end of an upset - but we're going bolder, predicting that at least three of the top 20 seeds will lose their opening-round matches. Whether it's Gary Anderson falling short against Adam Hunt, Gian van Veen failing to get past Cristo Reyes, Mike De Decker losing to David Munyua, or any of the 17 other players entering as a top-20 seed, we sense some surprise early departures.

Our second prediction is a prediction we often make ahead of major darts events, partly out of hope, partly out of expectation - but we're backing at least one nine-dart finish to be hit at the PDC World Darts Championship 2026. Luke Humphries pulled out a perfect leg at November's Grand Slam to beat Michael Smith, and on the biggest stage, we're expecting the very best to perform. It will be no surprise to see the likes of Littler, Humphries, Price, Rock, or van Gerwen hit a nine-darter, so let's hope for fireworks at the Ally Pally.

Finally, we're predicting that Luke Littler will once again take home the Ballon d'Art trophy, awarded to the player with the most 180s throughout the PDC World Championship campaign. The teenager won the award last year with a ridiculous 76 180s, and if he goes far into the tournament again this time around, it'll take a serious effort to stop him winning it again. He's in sensational form coming into the World Championships, already has the world title under his belt, and is currently the world number one - so there's nothing stopping him from dominating in London.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.