Step up to the oche: World Darts Championship returns bigger and better than ever

For most people, ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ are stalwarts of the festive playlist. For some though, December is instead the time for Planet Funk’s ‘Chase the Sun’ to blare into their living rooms. The iconic chant of ‘da, da, da, da, duh’ means only one thing: it’s time for the PDC World Darts Championship.

All eyes for that million-pound prize will be on 18-year-old Luke Littler

The crème de la crème of the darts world will descend on London’s Alexandra Palace from 11 December to 3 January for the championship’s biggest outing to date. An expanded field of 128 players will take to the oche, all facing off for their share of the £5 million prize pot – £1 million of which will go to the player who lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy three days into 2026, the biggest-ever prize for the tournament.

All eyes for that million-pound prize will be on 18-year-old Luke Littler, who shot to fame at this very tournament two years ago, making the final on only his second outing in a PDC major.

Littler enters the tournament as the reigning World Champion, having beaten off Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the 2025 final to rise to second in the world ranking. Since then, he has also picked up the UK Open, World Matchplay, and World Grand Prix titles, as well as finishing runner-up at the Premier League and World Series of Darts.

Greaves is no stranger to taking on fellow youngster Littler at the oche

Despite a string of titles to his name this year, the path to victory won’t be an easy one for ‘The Nuke’, with a strong slate of players set to challenge his campaign to retain the world title.

One of those challengers is 21-year-old Beau Greaves. Already a three-time WDF Women’s World Darts Champion, Greaves is no stranger to taking on fellow youngster Littler at the oche. In October, she knocked Littler out of the World Youth Championship in a thrilling 6-5 semi-final, sealing the victory with a decisive 11-dart deciding leg.

Humphries admitted that he has been branded as the “worst number one ever” by some fans

Beating Littler admittedly gave Greaves “a big confidence boost” ahead of the senior World Championships, where she will take to the stage as one of four women to have qualified for the tournament.

Five-time World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld, has tipped the young Doncaster player for success, saying that a good run at the Ally Pally would secure her a ticket in next year’s Premier League – a 17-week league-format tournament hosted across the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Despite trailing Littler’s average by three in the final, that tournament was won by current world number one Luke Humphries in May this year, who is also hot on the 18-year-old’s heels, desperate for a second world title.

The 2024 World Champion, who will likely enter the tournament as number two seed behind Littler, had a shaky start to 2025 with an unexpected fourth-round crash-out at the World Championships.

While he has gone on to win both the Premier League and World Masters this year, Humphries admitted that he has been branded as the “worst number one ever” by some fans, with Littler’s meteoric rise – and the comparative success of other players like World Youth finalist Gian van Veen and Welshman Jonny Clayton – taking a shine off his achievements.

That criticism hasn’t seemed to hold ‘Cold Hand Luke’ back completely though. He has put in some decisive shows in recent months, including a 107-average against Krzysztof Ratajski in the opening round of the European Championship and a nine-dart finish at the Grand Slam of Darts last month.

As always at the Ally Pally though, surprises are undoubtedly in store, and Littler, Greaves, and Humphries are far from the only names being tipped for success.

Niko Springer, Bradley Brooks, and Sebastian Białecki are also among the emerging talents this year

Following his World Cup of Darts win as one-half of Team Northern Ireland, Josh Rock enters the tournament as one of the top five favourites, as does Wales’ Gerwyn Price.

Despite not making a PDC major final in over two years, the divisive player seems to always put up a fight on the stage in London – his third-round match against Joe Cullen last year, which he won in a sudden death leg, was described by TalkSPORT as an “Ally Pally classic”.

Niko Springer, Bradley Brooks, and Sebastian Białecki are also among the emerging talents being tipped as ones to keep an eye on this year – and, with a new format meaning that the top 32 seeds will no longer skip straight to the second round, anything could happen when the biggest names in darts return to the Ally Pally stage later this month.