PDC World Darts Championship - World Darts Championship
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by Devesh Jaganath | in PDC World Darts Championship Predictions
The headline matchup of the opening night at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship will see Luke Littler in action against Darius Labanauskas at Alexandra Palace. The winner of this match between The Nuke and Lucky D will face either Mario Vandenbogaerde or David Davies in the second round. Let’s get into the key stats.
After making his debut right here at the Ally Pally in 2024, Luke Littler is back to try and defend his title after becoming the youngest winner in PDC World Championship history last year.
The Nuke enters this competition after retaining the Grand Slam of Darts title last month by beating Luke Humphries, a result that took him to the number one ranking on the PDC Order of Merit.
Over 2024-25, Littler has amassed a staggering 11 PDC titles. He also won the Players Championship finals on November 23 and is on a 13-match win streak in all competitions.
Meanwhile, barring the 2024 edition, Darius Labanauskas has featured in every World Championship since 2019, with his best performance coming in 2020 when he reached the quarter-final.
Lucky D has mainly participated on the Challenge Tour this year but has racked up a handful of titles, as well as a Nordic & Baltic ProTour event in Finland.
However, Labanauskas has failed to get beyond the second round of any of his last nine Pro Tour events and has only won one of his last seven matches in all competitions.
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Luke Littler - Darius Labanauskas Key Points
- Luke Littler is the world number one-ranked player.
- Luke Littler is the defending World Champion.
- Luke Littler has won 11 PDC titles in 2024-25.
- Darius Labanauskas has lost six of his last seven matches in all competitions.
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Our Luke Littler vs Darius Labanauskas Prediction
Darius Labanauskas is now a veteran at the World Championships and has produced a few memorable results, such as reaching the quarter-final in 2020 and pinning a nine-darter in 2022.
However, the Lithuanian has been handed the toughest task in all of pro darts, set to go up against the teenage sensation in Luke Littler, who has not lost a match since October. We simply cannot go against The Nuke in this one. Our Luke Littler vs Darius Labanauskas prediction is Luke Littler wins & most 180s.
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