Who wants to be a millionaire? Naturally, that was rhetorical. With the Christmas dust settling and the Alexandra Palace spotlight sharpening, the remaining thirty-two gladiators at the 2026 PDC Paddy Power World Championship are all eyeing the same thing – the Sid Waddell Trophy raised high above their heads and the first seven-figure payday this sport has ever dared to dream up.
Legacy, lucre, immortality. Small stuff. So who’s getting the keys to darts’ most exclusive vault? The bookies didn’t wait around. Paddy Power nailed their colours to the mast early doors, installing reigning champion Luke Littler as an odds-on favourite at a punchy 8/11.
No wobble, no drift, no panic – just supreme faith that the sport’s golden child can do it all over again.
Standing directly in his slipstream is his namesake and fellow heavyweight, Luke Humphries, next best at 9/2 and looming like a man who knows exactly how to ruin a party.
Beneath the twin Lukes sits the reigning European Champion and the only man to smash the 2025 ranking major monopoly enjoyed by the England World Cup duo – Gian van Veen. The Dutchman is priced at 9/1 and carries the unmistakable air of someone who hasn’t come to make up numbers. He’s come to nick silverware and upset narratives.
Then it gets… interesting.
Somewhere in the betting slip hinterland sits a three-time world champion and one of the most ferocious competitors the oche has ever known – Michael van Gerwen. Mighty Mike at 14/1. Behind his own young compatriot. Let that marinate for a moment. It feels borderline surreal, but that’s where we are in this era – reputations don’t win legs anymore.
Following MVG at 16/1 is Josh Rock, while Stephen Bunting lurks at 25/1, quietly screaming value from the rooftops. And if you fancy rummaging further down the odds aisle, keep your eyes peeled for Nathan Aspinall at 40/1 and Jonny Clayton at 50/1 – two multiple-major champions priced like plucky outsiders. If you’re ever going to back The Asp or The Ferret, now is very much the time to stop thinking and start clicking.But the real eyebrow-raiser?
Rob Cross at a scarcely believable 150/1. Yes, Voltage hasn’t exactly been lighting up the metrics this season, but class doesn’t evaporate overnight. One hot run, one spark of belief, and suddenly that price looks like the kind you remember for years – either fondly, or with a deep sense of personal regret.
Thirty-two remain. One leaves with everything. The rest? Just memories, missed doubles and what-ifs echoing through the Ally Pally rafters. Buckle up – this is where the fun really starts.
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Images: PDC
