World Grand Prix Darts 2025: 5 Players Who Could Steal the Show at the Mattioli Arena
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Bookies back Littler - But is he the man to beat?
Luke Littler has won just about everything since bursting onto the scene, but the World Grand Prix Darts title has eluded him, as he has failed to get beyond the last 32 in his two appearances at this competition.
The World Grand Prix Darts is contested on a double in, double out format, meaning that players need to hit a double to start and finish each leg of the 501 game. Pinning the bullseye is also permitted to start or end scoring.
The Nuke has developed a reputation for being one of the most lethal finishers around, especially on his favoured double-10, but the added pressure of needing a double to start the leg is something that the world champion does not enjoy. Speaking in an interview ahead of the tournament, Littler revealed:
“Obviously it's the next big one. I'll be honest, I didn't like it. I didn't like the double start. I think it's obviously one of the toughest tournaments to win, with the Worlds, the Matchplay, the Premier League. But the double start: if you don't get off, then you're in trouble.”
Adding to the task at hand, Littler has been drawn against fellow young gun Gian van Veen in the first round. This clash is being hyped up as the pick of the opening round matches, and you can find all the information you need in our Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen prediction.
Still, the teenager enters this match with plenty of momentum, having already racked up a handful of titles this year, including the World Championship, UK Open, Belgian Darts Open, and the Australian and New Zealand Darts Masters in August.
Humphries and Van Gerwen: Two titans in the hunt for glory
For mere mortals, winning the World Masters, US Darts Masters, Czech Darts Open, and the Premier League in the space of 10 months would be nothing short of sensational, yet for Luke Humphries, many feel that he has underperformed this year.
Indeed, he has not dominated tournaments as he did in 2023 and 2024, but Cool Hand plays his best under pressure and on the grandest stages, and he will be determined to go one better than last year, when he lost to Mike De Decker in the final of this competition.
Humphries’ first challenge at the World Grand Prix Darts 2025 comes in the form of his close friend, the Asp, and our experts are giving the edge to the world number one in this match, according to our Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall prediction.
One of the players we are most keen to see at the GP is Michael van Gerwen, who has won this competition a staggering six times in his career, making him the second-most successful player in World Grand Prix Darts history, only behind the legendary Phil Taylor.
Based on our experts’ Michael van Gerwen vs Dirk van Duijvenbode prediction, MVG is fancied to get to the second round of the competition against his compatriot, who has slipped to 32nd in the PDC World Rankings at the cut-off date for this competition.
Mighty Mike has had a tough year, in which injuries have played their part, but he won the World Series of Darts title last month by beating Littler, and that could prove to be the turning point for a strong end to the year for MVG.
Price and Rock could disrupt the betting order
For us, there is simply no discussing potential title winners in any competition without including Gerwyn Price in the conversation. The Iceman rises to the occasion wherever he goes and is one of the most consistent players around.
At 10/1, Price represents good value, and he has a favourable draw in the first round where he will meet world number 19 Ryan Searle, who endured a notable dip in form after winning the Players Championship 4 earlier this year.
Finally, Josh Rock is the player who rounds out our ones to watch list for the World Grand Prix Darts 2025, and he will meet Ryan Joyce in the first round. Don’t forget to take a look at our darts predictions for Rock’s and Price’s match details and key stats.
Rocky has consistently reached the latter stages of competitions this year and won the PC10 event while also partnering Daryl Gurney to World Cup of Darts glory. He was a beaten finalist at PC29 last week, so he should be carrying solid momentum into the World Grand Prix this week.
