Luke Littler is defending two titles as the 2026 World Darts Championship enters its semi-final stage.
The Nuke not only won his first World Championship last year, he also topped the Ballon d’Art rankings as the player who had landed the most 180s during the sport’s annual showpiece event.
As the four remaining arrowsmiths prepare to do battle this evening Littler is once again the man to beat.
Littler Tops The Ballon D’Art Leaderboard
The favourite took a step closer to retaining his World Darts Championship crown with an oche annihilation of Krzysztof Ratajski in their quarter-final clash on Thursday.
Littler’s 5-0 whitewash of his Polish opponent not only booked a semi-final showdown with Ryan Searle this evening, but it also saw the World No 1 move clear at the top of the Ballon d’Art rankings.
The Nuke began his match with Ratajski having plundered 37 ton eighties during his campaign and bedded another 10 to increase his tournament total to 47.
Two-time champ Gary Anderson had claimed top spot earlier in the day by landing five three-dart maximums in his 5-2 win over Justin Hood, taking his overall total to 45 for the tournament.
Hood exited the championship having reached third spot with 39 while semi-finalist Gian van Veen is on 37, matching that of his quarter-final victim Luke Humphries.
Littler is the current Ballon d’Art holder after bagging 76 three-dart maximums last year while Humphries took the honours in the inaugural version in 2024 with 73.
Over £1 Million Already Raised For Charity
Tournament title sponsor Paddy Power pledged to pay £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every 180 scored during the three weeks of competition.
Ahead of this evening’s semi-finals, there have been 1,063 maximums thrown, meaning Paddy Power’s commitment to PCUK presently stands at £1,063,000.
As part of it’s ‘The Even Bigger 180’ campaign, the popular UK and Ireland sportsbook has also pledged to donate £60,000 to PCUK for every nine-dart finish during the championship.
The successful player would also receive a fixed prize of £60,000 for achieving the feat, while a random audience member at Ally Pally would also receive a surprise £60,000 windfall.
There were two nine-darters in last year’s tournament, but we are still waiting on our first perfect leg for 2026.
World Darts Championship Semi-Final Draw
The 2026 PDC World Darts Championship enters the semi-final stage this evening at Alexandra Palace with four master arrowsmiths in contention.
Reigning champion and World No 1 Luke Littler will face off with Ryan Searle in the evening’s first match (7.45pm GMT), followed by Flying Scotsman Gary Anderson’s showdown with surprise package Gian van Veen (9.15pm GMT).
The target is to secure a place in Saturday evening’s final and a chance to land the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy along with the bumper £1 million prize money on offer for the winner.
Semi-finals, January 2, 2026
7.45pm: Luke Littler (1) v Ryan Searle (20)
9.15pm: Gian van Veen (10) v Gary Anderson (14)
Final, January 3, 2026
8.15pm: Winner Semi-Final 1 vs Winner Semi-Final 2
Full £5m Prize Money Allocation
Winner: £1,000,000
Runner-up: £400,000
Semi-final losers: £200,000
Quarter-final losers: £100,000
Fourth-round losers: £60,000
Third-round losers: £35,000
Second-round losers: £25,000
First-round losers: £15,000
Nine-Dart Finish: £60,000
