2026 PDC World Championship: Betting tips for opening night
The wait is over for darts fans as the 2026 PDC World Championship gets underway this evening, with defending champion Luke Littler the headline act on opening night.
Our darts expert Matt Hill will be on hand every day to give Odds Now readers his thoughts on the upcoming action and share some of his best betting angles. You can also catch Matt talking through his picks over on the Odds Now YouTube channel!
And if you’re still looking to sharpen your senses ahead of this year’s arrows extravaganza, why not check out Matt and Adam’s bumper 2026 PDC World Championship preview? All 64 round one matches were covered in under an hour!
An intriguing clash to kick this year’s renewal off here as veteran Kim Huybrechts takes on surprise qualifier Arno Merk.
Huybrechts, now 40, has been a mainstay on the pro circuit since 2012 but it feels like the Hurricane may finally be in danger of blowing out. Only an out of the blue European Tour final rescued a dire 2024 and there’s been even less to shout about this season.
The Belgian has amassed just £38,000 of prize money in 2025 prior to this tournament, so unless he gets a couple of wins at Ally Pally, looks to have his work cut out to retain Tour Card status beyond next December.
Merk, meanwhile, was once a highly-rated young prospect having won the German Junior Championship as a 17-year-old before qualifying for Lakeside a year later. However, he didn’t kick on as hoped and actually spent six years away from the sport between 2017 and 2023.
He’d done little of note in the last two years either, before becoming the surprising winner of the ever-competitive German Super League last month. Merk won nine of his 10 group games with a rolling average of 86.31 before excelling in four knockout stage ties – averaging 94.85, 99.66, 87.14 and 86.13 to book his spot at the Worlds.
Listening to Merk speak, he seems to have really rediscovered his hunger for the game and admits he has been practicing intensely for the last six months, which reflects in recent performances. So this feels like it could be a contest between one player on an upward curve and another struggling to arrest a slide in his level.
At the prices, backing Merk for the upset makes real appeal.
Michael Smith finally showed a flash of his old self at last month’s Grand Slam of Darts after a truly dire injury-ravaged period which has seen the 2023 World Champion plummet down the rankings.
Three years on from ruling the darting world, Bully Boy enters this year’s showpiece as the world number 28, which is of course a false ranking of his true ability. Yet questions remain as to whether Smith can ever scale his previous heights again, given he has a brutal combination of arthritis, shoulder and ankle issues to manage in the years ahead – none of which are conducive to throwing arrows at a target for extended periods.
That welcome return to form at the Grand Slam has to be caveated too, given his averages in the group stage were only 88.21, 87.84 and 90.60, before he won a highly dramatic last-leg shootout against Chris Dobey by posting 88.30. A slight lift in performance saw him average 93.05 in the quarter finals, where he was walloped 18-6 by Luke Humphries – a reflection of how far he still remains off his top level.
All that said, he won’t need to be near that top level to see off the spirited Lisa Ashton, who is searching for a first PDC World Championship win here at what will be her fifth attempt.
The Lancashire Rose added some deserved further gloss to a pioneering career by landing this year’s Women’s World Matchplay – stunning the dominant Beau Greaves 5-3 in the semi-finals and then seeing off Fallon Sherrock 6-5 in a tense final. That got her into the Grand Slam, where she lost all three group games as expected, though she did nobly take Gian van Veen into a last-leg decider.
Ashton has avoided a whitewash defeat in three of her four previous Ally Pally visits, though her previous opponents have been of a lower level than Smith. The 3-0 does seem the most likely outcome but it is priced accordingly, so no bet here.
Luke Littler will be sent off an odds-on poke to retain his PDC World Championship title this winter, with bookmakers taking cover amid a flurry of money for the Nuke over recent weeks.
It’s not hard to see why punters are flocking to side with the teenage sensation. Since lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy back in January, Littler has followed up with the UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals. It’s major domination on a scale we’ve only previously seen from two men – Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
There’s a word of warning for him when looking back at the latter’s peak years. Van Gerwen won a mind-blowing 21 out of the 30 majors between October 2014 and January 2017 but only picked up one out of a possible four World Championships in that period. Despite his stunning year to date, failing to lift the trophy on January 3rd would leave a bitter taste for Littler just like it did for MVG on those occasions.
Many onlookers believe the Nuke has a very favourable draw bracket this time around, and it’s hard to argue. Though Darius Labanauskas has pedigree here (a former quarter-finalist who has hit a nine-darter at Ally Pally), the Lithuanian isn’t currently in possession of a Tour Card.
He has, however, performed admirably well on his limited Pro Tour opportunities this term, beating the likes of Gian van Veen, Nathan Aspinall, Ryan Searle and Stephen Bunting on the floor to name but a few.
It’s an opening tie from hell for Labanuaskas though and although early quotes of 9/1 about the 49-year-old winning a set were ludicrously high, those prices have vanished now and with Littler capable of simply blasting him off the board, this is a no bet affair at current prices. Still, nice to get an early look at the man they all have to beat!
The final game of the night pits experience against youth – a familiar theme in this year’s opening round – as Latvia’s Madars Razma takes on World Youth Championship quarter-finalist Jamai van den Herik.
Razma is a likeable character who has put in the miles since turning professional in 2017. Still frequently commuting for events between his homeland and the UK, the fact he comfortably remains within the requirements for retaining his Tour Card is testament to both his commitment and class.
Best known for his love affair with treble 19, Razmatazz has also become a reliable type on this stage, making the last 32 in consecutive years. He’s an odds-on favourite to progress here, which feels fair, but he’s unlikely to have it all his own way against another promising product fresh off the Dutch conveyor belt.
Van den Herik actually qualified for this event via the World Youth Championship, given all four semi-finalists in that tournament had already sealed an Ally Pally spot. It’s just rewards for an excellent year which has seen him pick up two titles apiece on the Challenge and Development Tours, while also impressing on his Pro Tour call-ups – even making a quarter-final at Players Championship 22.
Like many of his age, Van den Herik’s Achilles heel is his consistency. He also has to show he can reproduce his excellent floor showings on the biggest stage, having put in some up and down efforts during a fairly recent appearance on the Modus Super Series. If he brings his A-game, this will be close, though Razma does tend to find a way in such contests.
In terms of angles, there’s a quirky one I’ve played on Razma over the years which often bears fruit and I’m happy to try it again here.
Given he goes to the 19 segment far more often than any other PDC player, it’s unsurprising to see his 180s per leg down at a miserly 0.15. Van den Herik’s is a much healthier 0.21, and yet, this discrepancy is unlikely to have much bearing on how the match actually ends up playing out. Razma will hit 133s and 171s that carry just as much weight as 140s and 180s.
So, if you expect Razma to come through the contest like me, backing him to win the match but lose the 180 count at 8/5 with Bet365 is probably more attractive than taking a best-priced 8/13.
2pts - Arno Merk to beat Kim Huybrechts - 9/4
2pts - Madars Razma to win but Jamai van den Herik to hit most 180s - 8/5 (Bet365)
1pt double - Merk to beat Huybrechts/ Razma win but lose 180 line vs Van den Herik -13/2 (Bet365)
Total staked - 5pts
Matt Hill is Odds Now's Head of Content and leads our digital operation, while also offering his insight as a tipster across darts and football.
Having worked in the industry for the best part of a decade, including extended stints with Betfred and LiveScore, Matt joined the project in May 2024 with the sole aim of making Odds Now a key player in the betting content space.
He has also forged a reputation as a respected darts tipster, landing numerous three-figure outright winners over the years, while his love for lower league football also helps him pick out the odd obscure winner in that space.
When not at the editorial desk, Matt enjoys travelling the country supporting his beloved Carlisle United FC, chucking a few arrows and spending time with his young family.
Matt Hill is Odds Now's Head of Content and leads our digital operation, while also offering his insight as a tipster across darts and football.
Having worked in the industry for the best part of a decade, including extended stints with Betfred and LiveScore, Matt joined the project in May 2024 with the sole aim of making Odds Now a key player in the betting content space.
He has also forged a reputation as a respected darts tipster, landing numerous three-figure outright winners over the years, while his love for lower league football also helps him pick out the odd obscure winner in that space.
When not at the editorial desk, Matt enjoys travelling the country supporting his beloved Carlisle United FC, chucking a few arrows and spending time with his young family.
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Year 2025
SMITH SOMEHOW GETS OVER THE LINE! 🤯 INCREDIBLE DRAMA! Michael Smith survives ELEVEN match darts in a REMARKABLE decider to edge out a shell-shocked Chris Dobey! 📺 bit.ly/25GSODLive #GSOD | R2
"I can't wait to return to the Palace!" 🤩 Luke Littler reacts to the 2025/26 World Championship draw, where he will face Darius Labanauskas in Round One.
