Everyone against Littler, Littler against the fans: Darts World Championship in its final stretch

The PDC World Darts Championship in London promises to kick off the year 2026 with exciting action. The quarterfinals will take place on New Year's Day (1:30 pm and 8:00 pm CET/Sport1 and DAZN) at the famous Alexandra Palace in the north of the British capital.

01 January 2026

From: dpa

On the court, defending champion Luke Littler has no one to fear at this World Championship. But the 18-year-old Englishman created a side scene during his 4-2 victory against Rob Cross in his last match of 2025 – with the fans. After unexpected boos directed at him, Littler addressed the supporters at Ally Pally directly, saying: "You pay for tickets and you pay my prize money. Thanks for booing me."

With a flushed face and a great deal of satisfaction, he declared: "It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me at all." Looking ahead to his match on New Year's Day (20.00 p.m.) against Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski, Littler said: "I'll prepare for the worst in the quarterfinals." The young star reached the final in 2024 and became world champion for the first time in 2025.

Former world champions against European champions

Littler's biggest challenger is Luke Humphries, the world number two. The Englishman will face Dutch European champion Gian van Veen this evening (9:30 p.m.). "It will be a great darts match. I like him a lot, he's a good player and I have great respect for him," said Humphries about the promising fixture.

In the afternoon (1:30 pm), Welshman Jonny Clayton and Ryan Searle from England will open the 2026 darts season. Following that (3:00 pm), Scottish veteran Gary Anderson will face Englishman Justin Hood. Anderson is aiming for his third world title, having won in 2015 and 2016.

prize money

The World Championship title is definitely financially worthwhile; the tournament winner receives prize money of one million pounds (approx. 1,15 million euros).

Two farewells are coming up.

Just two years ago, an era ended in darts when iconic referee Russ Bray, with his distinctive voice, retired. At this World Championship, players and fans must once again bid farewell to two familiar faces: referee George Noble and John McDonald, who traditionally welcomes the professionals onto the stage, are both calling it quits.

Keywords Darts World Cup