Christmas lights? Forget them. The real glow in North London this week comes from Alexandra Palace — the annual cathedral of noise, fancy dress, improbable hope and broken trebles — as the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship marches into town like a green-and-red freight train.
And the kid who sits at the top of the tree, star shining, crown straightened? Luke Littler.
The teenager who bent the sport into a new shape last winter strolled back through the Palace doors as the defending champion, swaggering into a first-night blockbuster start against Darius Labanauskas. Although the Champion was made to work for his first win, especially early on, it was imperious enough to make his pre event comments look understated.
It still feels surreal to say it aloud: Littler is chasing back-to-back world titles before he’s old enough to rent a car.
But the man himself sounds like someone who’s already glanced at destiny and nodded.
“My form says that I could beat anyone right now,” he says — not bragging, just stating the weather forecast. He remembers what Gary Anderson did a decade ago. He remembers joining the pantheon twelve months ago. And now?
“I’m standing here as the current champion and I’m looking to go back-to-back myself. I’ve got that number one spot now and hopefully I can have another tournament to remember this time around.”
The Sid Waddell Trophy has never looked so nervous.
THE FIELD BLOWS WIDE OPEN — EVERYONE STARTS IN ROUND ONE
No byes. No safety nets. All 128 players walk straight into the gunfire from night one. And standing beside Littler on opening evening is another man who knows exactly what it feels like to lift that trophy: Michael Smith, the 2022/23 champion, rebuilt, refocused and ready. This time he opens against Lisa Ashton — beloved, dangerous, and capable of throwing a set of tungsten napalm if the mood strikes. But Smith? He’s excited.
“It’s always a buzz going back to Ally Pally,” he says, a grin that’s half memory, half intent. He’s dragged his form out of the mud these past months. The injuries? Subsiding. The belief? Roaring back.
“I feel good. I feel ready… I’ve lifted that trophy before. I won’t quit until I get what I want.” If Littler is the future, Smith is the reminder: don’t count out a man who’s danced on that stage with the trophy in his hands.
THE PARADE OF TITANS ROLLS ON
Day two? Rob Cross headlines — a man built for sharp edges and big nights. Then Gian van Veen fires up his Euro Championship engine against the returning enigma Cristo Reyes. On the third? Enter Luke Humphries, the man who walked into Ally Pally last year as a meteor and left as world number one.
Now he opens against Ted Evetts — two former World Youth Champions colliding in a match that feels more like a mirror test.
“I feel like I’m playing better darts than I ever have,” Humphries insists, sounding like someone who means every syllable. The MBE sheen is still fresh on his lapel, but his eyes are locked on legacy.
“If you perform here, you will always be remembered… If you can win multiple World Championship titles, that legacy becomes even greater.”
Humphries doesn’t just want to win. He wants to carve his name into the foundations. And on that same night — the Highland war drum echoes as Gary Anderson begins another campaign.
“Ally Pally is something special… When you drive up that hill, that’s what gets your juices flowing.”
There are goosebumps in that sentence.
LEGENDS, NEW BLOOD & VOLCANIC NIGHTS AHEAD
Stephen Bunting arrives on day four. Peter Wright and Jonny Clayton unleash chaos on the fifth, Gerwyn Price storms back on the sixth, cape metaphorically billowing. Then day seven? James Wade returns, and Raymond van Barneveld — the five-time champion — makes his record-equalling 33rd walkout. Thirty-three. Some players haven’t even had 33 hot dinners on tour.
Then comes the night the walls will shake: Michael van Gerwen, opening against Japan’s Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, the Dutch titan hunting a fourth crown — and hunting the two men who have stolen the spotlight.
“Luke and Luke are playing better than me at the moment, so I have to step up. It’s as simple as that,” he says.
Then, MVG’s reminder of what makes him terrifying:
“The World Championship is a different animal… It’s always nice to chase someone. It’s easier than being hunted.”
THE FINAL DAYS OF ROUND ONE — AND A FIREWORK FINALE
Dave Chisnall collides with Fallon Sherrock. Beau Greaves returns to face Daryl Gurney — a match with enough narrative weight to split the stage in half. Nathan Aspinall closes out the round as only he can: arms pumping, crowd roaring, drama guaranteed. And then? Christmas. Quarter-finals on New Year’s Day. A final looming like a darting thundercloud on January 3rd.
A MILLION POUNDS, A MILLION ROAR, A MILLION MOMENTS
The prize fund is monstrous. The stakes are absurd. And Paddy Power’s charity 180 and nine-darter bounties add even more electricity to a tournament already crackling with it. In short? The circus is back.
The Palace is waiting, doors open!
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
