Darts: India’s Nitin Kumar eyes first PDC World Darts Championship victory at Ally Pally this weekend
Kumar installed as clear underdog against Richard Veenstra
The 2026 PDC World Darts Championship has largely gone as expected over the first three days, with most of the players who qualified via the PDC Order of Merit, such as Luke Little, Rob Cross and Michael Smith, all making it through to round two with little fuss.
On Sunday, India’s sole representative, Nitin Kumar, will be stepping out in front of the boisterous Ally Pally crowd, hoping to secure his first-ever victory at the World Championships. You can get all the insights for his match by checking out our World Darts Championship predictions.
Kumar, nicknamed the Royal Bengal, is India’s most accomplished professional darts player and has represented the nation at multiple PDC World Cup of Darts tournaments, including the 2025 edition alongside his compatriot Mohan Kumar Goel.
This is the fifth time that the 40-year-old from Tamil Nadu has qualified for the Ally Pally and the first since 2022. However, he has never managed to get beyond the opening round, which is something he will hope to change on Sunday evening.
The Royal Bengal navigated the Indian Qualifier format to secure his spot at the 2026 World Championship. Some of his most notable performances this year include featuring in the World Cup and Bahrain Darts Masters, while he also notched up a group-stage victory at the PDC Asian Tour and Asian Championship.
However, Kumar will have to be at his very best to get by Richard Veenstra, who is ranked inside the top 50 in the PDC Order of Merit and has made deep runs this year, most notably reaching the last 16 at the Dutch Darts Masters and the quarter-final at the Players Championship 27 in September.
Can anyone stop Luke Littler at the Ally Pally this year?
While every player at the 2026 World Championships is carrying hope of winning the ultimate prize, all indicators suggest that it is going to take something special to deny Luke Littler from defending his title at the Ally Pally.
The Nuke kicked off his tournament with a ruthless whitewash over Darius Labanauskas, averaging an incredible 101.54, while pinning 9/14 of his checkout attempts (64.29%) and recording a highest checkout of 124. After his victory, Littler said:
"I’m very happy with the performance. When I woke up this morning, I was excited. It felt very special to be back. This was my first-ever PDC tournament, so I have a lot of memories here. A win is a win, and that’s the hardest game out of the way."
Littler moved up to the number ranking in the PDC Order of Merit last month when he beat Luke Humphries to the Grand Slam of Darts title. The teenager is now on a 14-match win streak, having also won the Players Championship final before arriving at the Ally Pally.
