Luke Littler nearly odds-on to win 2026 PDC World Championship after Grand Slam victory

Luke Littler has been cut into even money to win the 2026 PDC World Championship with several leading bookmakers after securing yet more major success at the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday.

The Nuke beat his old foe Luke Humphries 16-11 in a topsy-turvy final in Wolverhampton, finding himself 8-6 down in the third session before reeling off 10 of the last 13 legs to secure a comprehensive victory.

In the process, Littler landed his fifth major title of 2025 following previous triumphs at the UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and, of course, January's World Championship.

Bookmakers cut Littler into a heavy favourite for 2026 World Championship

Bookmakers are now taking cover, with Unibet, BoyleSports and Quinn Bet all seeing fit to trim the 18-year-old into an EVS favourite to retain his crown at Alexandra Palace in seven weeks' time.

Others such as Bet365, Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill are not far behind at 11/10, with Betfred 6/5 and Star Sports a top-priced 13/10 on the teenage sensation making it back-to-back world titles.

Littler has been around a 2/1 chance for most of the calendar year but after his repeated dominant displays on the sport's biggest stages, it appears bookmakers are now desperate not to rack up any more liability on him ruling the darting world again.

4/1 Humphries declares he will win the World Championship

Humphries, who struggled to regain momentum after missing several darts to level the final at 10-10, remains a clear second favourite at a best-priced 4/1, with the rest of the field all priced at double-figure quotes or higher.

The 2024 champion, who relinquished his world number one spot to Littler this week, explained after the defeat that he is more determined than ever to get himself back on top.

Humphries said: "That's three finals I've lost on the trot now. I'm ready for the Worlds now. I'm going to win the Worlds!

"I'm disappointed to lose those finals but I'm playing good. It could've been 10-10 there and he just crept in. But one game a day suits me. We're going to go to war at the World Championships. Me and him in the final. Let's see who gets it.

"I'm really going to give it everything."

Asked if he felt the pair were on a level of their own, he added: "Yeah, I do. I'm not being arrogant when I say that but that's how I feel.

"People may say it's a bit boring with another Luke vs Luke final but what can we do? We're on opposite sides of the draw and it's up to the other players to stop us."

Van Veen, Rock, Price and Van Gerwen considered biggest dangers

When it comes to the rest of the field, there are four players who bookmakers appear to consider the likeliest threats to Littler and Humphries this winter.

World Youth champion Gian van Veen landed his maiden major at last month's European Championship and is a 12/1 chance to win the 2026 PDC World Championship at the time of writing.

The Dutch ace beat Humphries in a pulsating final in Dortmund and is considered one of the game's brightest talents – though he is still to win a game on the Ally Pally stage in two attempts.

Josh Rock has enjoyed a breakthrough year, inspiring Northern Ireland to World Cup glory this summer alongside Daryl Gurney and has also enjoyed great tussles with Littler at both the World Matchplay and Grand Slam, where he forged early leads on both occasions before being reeled back in by the Nuke.

Rock is a 14/1 chance with Ladbrokes and Coral to lift a first world crown on January 3rd, though he too must improve on a mediocre World Championship record that has not seen him go beyond the fourth round in three attempts.

In terms of title-winning pedigree, 2021 world champion Gerwyn Price certainly knows what it takes to rule the darting world – he is a best-priced 16/1 for glory in 2026 with Sky Bet and Paddy Power.

The Welshman has been in excellent form this term but is now over four years without a major title, while his sole World Championship win came in a behind-closed-doors renewal due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Three-time winner Michael van Gerwen is the only other runner priced south of 33/1 but the Dutchman has endured a rough 2025, which has seen him make just one major semi-final since losing the Ally Pally showpiece to Littler back in January.

Van Gerwen has also had a rough time away from the oche this year, having divorced his wife of 11 years, Daphne – leading him to skip a lot of events in the middle of the season.

Those skipped events saw Van Gerwen fail to qualify for next week's Players Championship Finals for the first time in his career and mean he goes into next month's World Championship with plenty of question marks over his head.

The 2026 PDC World Championship begins on December 11th 2025 – an earlier start date than usual due to the field being expanded to 128 players this year. The final will take place on January 3rd, with the winner set to scoop £1million in prize money alongside the Sid Waddell trophy.