Darts news: Five players who could dethrone Luke Littler to win the 2026 PDC World Darts Championships
Everybody has fallen short when facing Luke Littler in a major tournament in 2025. Can anyone stop the Nuke, or is he going to go back-to-back to win his second World Championship of his career?
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Will Thomas looks at five players who could dethrone Luke Littler to win the 2026 World Championships.
Gerwyn Price
Gerwyn Price hasn’t beaten Littler since March in the Premier League. Despite that, though, he has come marginally close on many recent occasions.
The Welshman looked sure to beat the Nuke in the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix in October, but Litter’s ton plus checkouts helped him come back from two sets down to win 3-2.
Littler seems not to let Price’s emotion and celebration get under his skin anymore, now using it to spur him on to victory.
There is one thing for sure, though...if these two meet each other in the latter rounds it will make for a very entertaining game.
Luke Humphries
Luke Littler has become the ever-resting hand on Luke Humphries’ shoulder.
Cool Hand has lost in his last three meetings against the Nuke, most noticeably falling victim to another Luke Littler final loss in the Grand Slam in November.
If there is anyone, though, who can match Litter’s averages, it will be Humphries, the winner of the 2024 World Darts Championship, who averaged an astonishing 108.55 against Van de Velde in the Grand Slam.
This match continues to be a match that decides championships, and the new World No. 2 would love to finally get his revenge on the biggest stage of them all to win the tournament in January 2026.
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Gian van Veen
Gian van Veen and Luke Littler were constant rivals through the youth tour, and despite Littler receiving success earlier in both of their careers, the Dutchman has raised eyebrows with impressive performances throughout the year.
He is definitely a contender to win the World Championship in January.
Van Veen won his second consecutive Youth Championship against Beu Greaves last month, 6-3, and is a strong contender to dethrone Littler and be in the Premier League in the new year.
Josh Rock
Josh Rock had a barnstormer of a game with Littler in July as he narrowly lost 17-14 in the World Matchplay semi-final in Blackpool.
Despite that, the Northern Irishman has had a great year, winning the World Cup with Darryl Gurney for Northern Ireland and breaking into the Top 11 in the World rankings.
Rocky has become many people’s dark horse for the Championship, and a win against Littler wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen may be past his glory days, but his name and presence alone can still strike fear into anyone who’s facing him.
MVG lost last year’s final to Luke Littler and will be looking to get revenge over the Nuke in efforts to claim his third World Championship and match his fellow Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld.
If the Green Machine can get anywhere close to his best this tournament, he’ll have a very good chance of beating Littler and winning the 2026 World Championship.
Prediction
I believe the most likely player out of the five to beat Littler is surprisingly not Luke Humphries.
Instead, I can see Gian van Veen succeeding. The Dutchman narrowly lost to Littler in the Grand Prix after winning the first two sets, and with a few little tweaks to his finishing, he can beat Littler and stake a claim on this World Championship.
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