PDC World Matchplay Darts - PDC World Matchplay Darts
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by Steve Ashfield | in PDC World Matchplay Darts Predictions
Luke Littler is the highest remaining seed but has never won a match in the World Matchplay Darts Championship. The second seed will want to wipe away that stat when facing fellow Englishman Ryan Searle in round one. Can the Nuke get that first win? Here's our match prediction.
Littler is the world champion but has only played in this tournament once. That was last year when he lost to Michael van Gerwen. The winner of this best-of-19 legs match will face either 15th seed Peter Wright or unseeded Jermaine Wattimene in round two.
So far this year, Littler has won the world title and also the UK Open. The world number two was also the runner-up in the 2025 Premier League Darts after finishing top of the weekly league.
Ryan Searle is ranked 19th in the world and with his long hair is nicknamed 'Heavy Metal.' The Englishman was a quarter-finalist in this tournament two years ago. His best result has been reaching the final of the Players Championship series four years ago.
Searle has won one Players Championship event this year. In major PDC televised tournaments this year, he has only got to that one Matchplay quater-final since that 2021 final. We tip Littler to win this on a -3.5 legs handicap.
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Luke Littler - Ryan Searle Key Points
- Littler is 17 places higher than Searle in the world rankings.
- In the PDC Order of Merit, Littler has earned over £900,000 more than his opponent.
- Searle has only reached one major televised quarter-final since 2021.
- Littler won the world title this year and also the UK Open.
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Our Luke Littler vs Ryan Searle Prediction
The shock defeat of Luke Humphries in round one has opened the door for Luke Littler. He's the highest remaining seed in this tournament and way ahead of Searle in the world rankings. He will be confident of comfortably progressing to round two.
Ryan Searle has had a title win this year but rarely goes deep in the PDC's major televised tournaments with just one quarter-final in the past four years. Our Luke Littler v Ryan Searle prediction is Luke Littler to win on a -3.5 legs handicap.
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All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
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