World Darts Championship: Are we heading for a Luke Littler vs Luke Humphries final and why are so many seeds tumbling out at Ally Pally?
It can't go on like this, can it? Seeds are tumbling, leaving Luke Littler and Luke Humphries on a collision course to meet in the final; you can watch the World Championship live on Sky Sports Darts all the way through until January 3 2026 at Alexandra Palace, London
Wednesday 24 December 2025 17:10, UK
Are we heading for a Luke Littler vs Luke Humphries final at the World Darts Championship and why are so many seeds tumbling out at Ally Pally?
All the pre-tournament expectation was that it would be a battle of the Lukes in the final as Littler and Humphries continue to dominate the sport.
And nothing has happened in the opening two rounds to suggest anything different.
Littler has not had to get out of first gear in victories over Darius Labanauskas and David Davies, while Humphries has looked equally as impressive in his wins against Ted Evetts and Paul Lim.
Bigger tests lie ahead but both men have the capacity to improve and it would take a brave person to predict someone other than Littler or Humphries will be lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3.
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The new format of the tournament, where seeded players no longer receive a bye into round two, meant a host of big names were gone before Christmas.
Former champions Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Michael Smith were all dumped out in the second round, while sixth seed Danny Noppert was the highest-ranked player to go.
Chris Dobey, seeded seventh, and James Wade, seeded eighth, also went out in the second round, while 12th seed Ross Smith was the highest seed to fall at the first hurdle.
Michael van Gerwen remains at the top of the sport and is a contender for the title.
He has his own theory on why a record-number of seeds are losing. The Dutchman said: "I always say the world championships is a different animal. You have to prepare yourself in a really good way to make sure you're going to do some damage here."
Mardle: Don't rule out MVG
Sky Sports' Wayne Mardle has not ruled out the chances of back-to-back winner Anderson and three-time champion Van Gerwen, admitting it would be "short-sighted" of anyone to rule out more upsets in a tournament which has already seen 17 seeds fall by the wayside.
Speaking on 'Behind The Oche', the four-time world championship semi-finalist said: "I don't think it's just down to Luke Humphries [to stop Luke Littler]. I think it would be really short-sighted of anyone and after watching what they've already watched in this Worlds to say 'no, that can't happen'.
"We have seen Wesley Plaisier do a number on Gerwyn Price. We have seen in a way Gabriel Clemens do a number on Wessel Nijman.
"There are certain things in life you just cannot do like play poorly and beat Gary Anderson. You have to be world-class on the stage to beat Michael van Gerwen.
"If they do get beaten, it will take an amazing performance to beat them. Michael van Gerwen reaches finals here when he's not at his best, so I wouldn't rule it out."
World Darts Championship: Third-round draw
Top Half
- Luke Littler vs Mensur Suljovic
- Damon Heta vs Rob Cross
- Andrew Gilding vs Luke Woodhouse
- Wesley Plaisier vs Krzysztof Ratajski
- Stephen Bunting vs James Hurrell
- Martin Schindler vs Ryan Searle
- Jonny Clayton vs Niels Zonneveld
- Andreas Harrysson vs Ricardo Pietreczko
Bottom Half
- Luke Humphries vs Gabriel Clemens
- Nathan Apsinall vs Kevin Doets
- Ricky Evans vs Charlie Manby
- Gian van Veen vs Madars Razma
- Michael van Gerwen vs Arno Merk
- Gary Anderson vs Jermaine Wattimena
- Justin Hood vs Ryan Meikle
- Josh Rock vs Callan Rydz
Favourites, old-timers and stars of the future
Three-time world champion John Part is pleased to see a mix of strong favourites, old-timers, and some great performances from up-and-coming stars.
The Canadian said: "A lot of players see their chance as a real chance and not as something to intimidate them. It's almost been a rallying around the underdogs.
"When one wins, then another is inspired... like dominoes falling! But we still saw some really great fightbacks.
"Some did survive but others didn't, but going forward we have a great tournament left. The format seemed long but they can be very brief. I think there will be some relief from the favourites that it will be increasing after Christmas, which offers more safety."
Part is backing Littler to retain his title, although he feels there is the calibre of player left in the tournament to trouble 'The Nuke'.
"Littler is not invulnerable but he can certainly make the most of his skills and position himself well because when he gets in trouble, he can get out of it. He's able to focus on a lot of adversity but that's the biggest stage in darts.
"For anybody, you are vulnerable to things snowballing out of control at times and you really have to be a professional and do your job."
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live all the way through until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from December 10). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
