World Darts Championship 2025/26 betting tips: Selections for Ally Pally

Luke Littler is back at the PDC World Championship as the defending champion hopes to light up the Alexandra Palace stage 12 months on from his maiden world title win last year.

It’s hard to look beyond the Nuke in the outright market, but perhaps the 4/5 on offer has gone beyond holding any value.

Littler has a dream draw to the quarter finals, where it looks almost impossible that the Nuke will be stopped in the short-format rounds, and then the Warrington man will be in the extended set contests, where he is extremely hard to beat.

However, there could be some each-way value against the Nuke in the bottom-half of the draw

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World Darts Championship betting tips

• Gian van Veen @ 16/1
• Callan Rydz each-way @ 150/1
• Stephen Bunting to win quarter two @ 7/2

Giant can stand tall

With Littler odds-on Luke Humphries looks the obvious each-way alternative in the opposite half of the draw.

However, Cool Hand has a potential third-round tie with Wessel Nijman and then a fourth-round game against Nathan Aspinall and that doesn’t look an easy route to the latter stages of the competition for a 4/1 chance.

Gian van Veen lifted the first major title of his career when beating Humphries in the final of the European Championship earlier this year and the Giant can stand tall at Alexandra Palace.

The Dutchman also picked up a Players Championship success this season, the 23-year-old made a final on the European Tour and the world youth champion is a rapidly improving performer.

Dimitri van den Bergh, who hasn’t committed to the tour this season, is the highest-ranked player Van Veen can face before the fourth round and the draw looks perfect for a big run for the Giant.

Rydz can run riot

Callan Rydz looks a huge price at 150/1. It hasn’t been a great season for the Riot, who has struggled to make an impact on the big stage and Pro Tour. However, there have been glimpses of a peak game, which can trouble any of the world’s best performers, and the two-time World Championship quarter-finalist can produce a big run.

The Bedlington arrowsmith recorded three of the five highest averages at last year’s World Championship, and alongside Littler, was the most impressive performer in the competition.

Rydz fell to Michael van Gerwen at the last-eight stage last term, but the Riot outperformed MVG and an effort of that level could carry the 27-year-old deep into the tournament.

The draw hasn’t been too kind, and current form is a worry, but outright odds of 150/1 underplay the Riot’s chances.

Bullet can hit quarter finals

Stephen Bunting has won two European Tour and two Players Championship titles this season and the Bullet looks the clear pick in quarter two.

The two-time PDC World Championship semi-finalist and former BDO world champion has all of the talent needed to progress from a soft section.

Johnny Clayton looks the big danger in the quarter, but the Bullet would be a clear jolly against the Ferret in a quarter-final contest, and offers of 7/2 look to underrated Bunting’s chances of reaching the semi-finals.

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Odds correct at time of writing and subject to change

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